Methods and systems for animating a workflow and a project plan

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention allow a user to animate different versions of a plan or workflow. Each version reflects an instance in an edit history, i.e., reflects the changes made to the plan or workflow. Additionally, methods and systems consistent with the present invention allow a user to view the various plans created from a given workflow over time. Finally, methods and systems consistent with the present invention may be used to review the steps performed during the activation of a plan.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/230,054, entitled “Development Tool forModeling Workflow,” filed on Sep. 1, 2000, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/296,707, entitled “Improved Development Tool ForModeling Workflow,” filed on Jun. 7, 2001, both of which areincorporated herein by reference.

The following identified U.S. patent applications are also relied uponand are incorporated by reference in this application:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/944,697, entitled “Methods andSystems for Integrating Process Modeling and Project Planning,” andfiled on the same date herewith;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/945,081, entitled “Methods andSystems for Improving a Workflow Based on Data Mined from Plans Createdfrom the Workflow,” and filed on the same date herewith; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/944,847, entitled “Methods andSystems for Optimizing Resource Allocation Based on Data Mined fromPlans Created from a Workflow,” and filed on the same date herewith.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for integrating abusiness process or workflow with a project plan. More particularly, theinvention relates to a method and system for creating and activating aproject plan, and animating the activation of the project plan. Themethod and system may also track changes made to the workflow or projectplan, and animate the corresponding changes to the workflow or projectplan. Additionally, the invention relates to a method and system forcreating different project plans from one workflow, and animating thecreation of the different project plans.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To become more efficient and competitive, businesses and industries havestriven to capture and streamline the business processes or workflowsthey use to operate and manage their respective enterprises. In general,a workflow is a model of a process. More specifically, a workflow can beviewed as a structured set of activities designed to produce a specificoutput for a particular customer (internal or external to an enterprise)or market. Although conventional software tools define the stepsperformed by the workflow, conventional tools do not schedule theresources (e.g., the people, equipment, or software technologies)responsible for completing each activity. Conventional tools also do notprepare a timeline identifying the beginning or end of each activity.Thus, conventional tools do not prepare a schedule for completing theworkflow.

Businesses and industries also use other conventional software tools,such as Microsoft Project™, to build and manage a project plan for theirrespective enterprises. A plan represents an instance of the workflow.More specifically, a plan can be viewed as a working schedule for aproject to produce a product or artifact, such as a computer, bicycle,or software build, for the respective enterprise. These otherconventional software tools typically display the working schedule inthe form of an interactive Gantt chart, i.e., a chart to which the usercan make updates. A Gantt chart is the linear, time-based representationof a project schedule, usually laid out on a horizontal plane where thetimes/dates increase to the right. These Gantt charts show the temporalrelationships between the different tasks in a project, where the tasksare arranged along the vertical axis. Gantt charts are typically used tolay out an initial plan/timeline for the project, and then to track theactual progress of a project from start to finish. The modernsoftware-based Gantt chart also identifies the resource(s) responsiblefor completing each task of the plan, the dependencies between thetasks, and, once the project has begun, the status of each task.

The conventional tools that support the building and managing of aproject plan, however, do not provide direct links between projects andthe workflows or business processes that the enterprise has defined andseeks to implement to gain business advantage and economies ofefficiencies. Likewise, the conventional tools that enterprises use todefine and manage workflows are not linked to project plans. Becauseboth workflows and project plans do not exist on the same tool,workflows and project plans cannot be integrated or synchronized to keepthe workflows and project plans “in step” with each other. Thus, thereis a need in the art for a tool that avoids the limitations of theseconventional software tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide aworkflow modeling and project planning integration tool that overcomesthe limitations of conventional tools. Contrary to conventional toolsthat do not allow a user to integrate a business process or workflowwith a project plan, the integration tool, in accordance with methodsand systems consistent with the present invention, allows a user tomodel a business process or workflow, to create and activate or start aproject plan based on the workflow, to manage the execution of theactivated plan, and to track the progress of the activated project plan.In addition, the tool may include a Web-based “Distributed Authoring andVersioning” server that operates as a virtual file system to allow morethan one user to view the same workflow or project plan, to providepersistent storage, to monitor the progress of an activated projectplan, to simultaneously create plans from the same workflow, and to haveessentially unlimited access to the power of the tool through theubiquity of the Internet. “Versioning is a term well-known in the artfor capturing the state of an entity at given points in time.

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention allow a userto animate different versions of a plan or workflow. Each versionreflects an instance in an edit history, i.e., reflects the changes madeto the plan or workflow. Additionally, methods and systems consistentwith the present invention allow a user to view the various planscreated from a given workflow over time. Methods and systems consistentwith the present invention also allow a user to review the stepsperformed during the activation of a plan. The user may adjust the rateat which the animation is displayed. The animation may also be viewed inreverse order.

In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, amethod is provided in a data processing system. The data processingsystem comprises versions of a plan, and each version reflects aninstance in an edit history. The method comprises the steps of storingindications of the versions of the plan, and displaying the versions ofthe plan in a sequential manner to simulate animation of the edithistory.

In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, amethod is provided in a data processing system. The data processingsystem comprises versions of a workflow, and each version reflects aninstance in an edit history. The method comprises the steps of storingindications of the versions of the workflow, and displaying the versionsof the workflow in a sequential manner to simulate animation of the edithistory.

In accordance with articles of manufacture consistent with the presentinvention, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readablemedium contains instructions for controlling a data processing system toperform a method. The method comprises the steps of retrieving edits toa plan, and determining whether to display in a forward mode. When it isdetermined to display in the forward mode, the method further comprisesthe steps of removing the edits from the plan, displaying the plan, andfor each of the edits, applying the edit to the plan, and displaying theplan. When it is determined not to display in the forward mode, themethod further comprises the steps of displaying the plan, and for eachof the edits, removing the edit from the plan, and displaying the plan.

In accordance with articles of manufacture consistent with the presentinvention, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readablemedium contains instructions for controlling a data processing system toperform a method. The method comprises the steps of retrieving edits toa workflow, and determining whether to display in a forward mode. Whenit is determined to display in the forward mode, the method furthercomprises the steps of removing the edits from the workflow, displayingthe workflow, and for each of the edits, applying the edit to theworkflow, and displaying the workflow. When it is determined not todisplay in the forward mode, the method further comprises the steps ofdisplaying the workflow, and for each of the edits, removing the editfrom the workflow, and displaying the workflow.

In accordance with articles of manufacture consistent with the presentinvention, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readablemedium contains instructions for controlling a data processing system toperform a method. The method comprises the steps of retrieving aplurality of plans generated from a workflow, and displaying each of theplans in a sequential manner to simulate the generation of the plansfrom the workflow.

In accordance with articles of manufacture consistent with the presentinvention, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readablemedium contains instructions for controlling a data processing system toperform a method. The data processing system comprises a plan and theplan comprises a plurality of tasks. The method comprises the steps ofdisplaying a graphical representation of the plan, wherein the graphicalrepresentation has portions that correspond to the tasks, retrievingedits to the plan, wherein each of the edits modifies a state of one ofthe plurality of tasks, and for each of the edits, applying the edit tothe corresponding task of the plan, and displaying the portion of thegraphical representation that corresponds to the edited task in avisually distinctive manner.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the present inventionwill be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following figures and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the presentinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theadvantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts a data processing system suitable for practicing methodsand systems consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an architectural overview of the workflow modeling andproject planning integration tool used to perform methods and systemsconsistent with the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the high-level processperformed by the tool of FIG. 2 in accordance with methods and systemsconsistent with the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary document workflow modeled by an enterpriseaffiliate using the tool of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary task workflow modeled by an enterpriseaffiliate using the tool of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 depicts another exemplary workflow modeled by an enterpriseaffiliate using the tool of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 depicts a timeline of the task created from the workflow of FIG.4;

FIG. 8 depicts a timeline of the task created from the workflow of FIG.5;

FIG. 9 depicts a timeline of the task created from the workflow of FIG.6;

FIGS. 10-12 depict the execution of the plan depicted in FIG. 7;

FIGS. 13-16 depict the execution of the plan depicted in FIG. 8;

FIGS. 17-21 depict the execution of the plan depicted in FIG. 9following the default path;

FIGS. 22-27 depict the execution of the plan depicted in FIG. 9following the non-default path;

FIGS. 28A-C depict a flow diagram illustrating the creation or retrievalof a workflow by the tool of FIG. 2;

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto begin creating or retrieving a workflow;

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto enter the name of a new workflow group;

FIG. 31 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto begin creating a new workflow;

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto enter the name of a new workflow;

FIG. 33A-C depict an exemplary workflow definition file produced by thetool of FIG. 2 for the workflow depicted in FIG. 6;

FIG. 34 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto manage a workflow;

FIG. 35 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto add a new role to a workflow;

FIG. 36 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto select an artifact type;

FIG. 37 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto enter condition properties for a document-oriented artifact;

FIG. 38 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto enter condition properties for a script-oriented artifact;

FIG. 39 depicts an exemplary user interface of a script editor for thetool of FIG. 2;

FIG. 40 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto modify the properties of a workflow activity;

FIGS. 41A and B depict a flow diagram illustrating the creation of aplan from a workflow;

FIG. 42 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto create a new plan group;

FIG. 43 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2displaying the available plan groups;

FIG. 44 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto enter a plan name;

FIG. 45 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto enter the working schedule;

FIG. 46 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto enter the scheduled start and end times for the plan;

FIG. 47 depicts an exemplary workflow definition file produced by thetool of FIG. 2 for the workflow of FIG. 5 is created;

FIG. 48 depicts an exemplary plan definition file created from theworkflow definition file of FIG. 47;

FIG. 49 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto assign users to a plan;

FIG. 50 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto edit the properties of a plan;

FIG. 51 depicts a timeline of the task created from the workflow of FIG.5;

FIG. 52 depicts an exemplary timeline of the tool of FIG. 2 used toactivate a plan;

FIG. 53 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the addition of a resourceby the tool of FIG. 2;

FIG. 54 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto add a resource;

FIG. 55 depicts an exemplary user interface of the tool of FIG. 2 usedto receive LDAP access information;

FIG. 56 depicts an exemplary resource file created by the tool of FIG.2;

FIG. 57 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the management of anactivated plan;

FIG. 58 depicts a timeline of the task created from the workflow of FIG.5;

FIG. 59 depicts an exemplary plan definition file created from theworkflow of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 60, 62, 64 and 66 depict the actual timeline showing the executionof the plan depicted in FIG. 58;

FIGS. 61, 63, and 65 depict the properties of the executing tasks ofFIGS. 62, 64, and 66;

FIG. 67 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the modifications to theplan definition and task definition during the activation of a plan;

FIGS. 68, 70, 72, 75, and 77 depict the activation of the first task ofan exemplary plan created using the tool of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 69, 71, 73, 74, 76, and 78 depict the task definition file for thefirst task of FIGS. 68, 70, and 72;

FIG. 79 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the steps performed by thetool depicted in FIG. 2 to edit a plan;

FIGS. 80A and B depict a flow diagram illustrating the steps performedby the tool depicted in FIG. 2 to sequentially displaying the versionsof the plan definition file;

FIG. 81 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the steps performed by thetool depicted in FIG. 2 to edit a workflow;

FIG. 82 depicts an exemplary workflow created using the tool of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 83-87 depict activity definition files corresponding to theactivities depicted in FIG. 82;

FIG. 88 depicts the workflow of FIG. 82 with a revision;

FIGS. 89 and 90 depict activity definition files corresponding to themodified activities for the workflow depicted in FIG. 88;

FIG. 91 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the steps performed by thetool depicted in FIG. 2 to create different plans from one workflow; and

FIGS. 92A and B depict a flow diagram illustrating the steps performedby the tool depicted in FIG. 2 to sequentially display the versions ofthe plan definition file.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide anintegrated workflow modeling and project planning integration tool thatimproves the efficiency and reduces the operating cost of an enterpriseor business conglomerate. Contrary to conventional tools that do notallow a user to integrate a workflow and a project plan, the integrationtool allows a user to model a business process or workflow, to createand activate a project plan based on the workflow, and to track theprogress of the activated project plan. The tool also allows theworkflow to be reused to create more than one project plan based on theworkflow. The tool simultaneously manages the execution of the plans.Moreover, the integration tool may include a virtual file system server,such as a Web-based “Distributed Authoring and Versioning” (WebDAV)server that operates as a virtual file system for computers on anetwork. With the WebDAV server, more than one user on differentcomputer systems may view the same workflow or project plan, monitor theprogress of an activated project plan, or simultaneously create andactivate different plans from the same workflow.

System Overview

While methods and systems consistent with the present invention mayapply to any enterprise in any industry, they will be further describedbelow with reference to the software industry to provide clarity,consistency, and to demonstrate the invention as applied to one of themore difficult process industries. More particularly, methods andsystems consistent with the present invention will be described withreference to a software development business process that is applicableto the software industry.

FIG. 1 depicts a data processing system 100 suitable for practicingmethods and systems consistent with the present invention. Dataprocessing system 100 includes a group of computers 102 a, 104, and 106that are connected via a network 108. Network 108 may be any knownphysical or wireless network capable of supporting a data transmissionbetween two computer systems, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a WideArea Network (WAN), the Internet, or leased phone lines.

As further explained herein, computer 102 a may actually be one ofmultiple computers (i.e., computers 102 a and 102 n) used by affiliatesof an enterprise or business conglomerate to communicate with oneanother via network 108. The enterprise affiliates may be employees,managers, administrators, suppliers, customers, other computerapplications, other computer systems, or other users within theenterprise who may need to create, view, or receive informationregarding an activated project plan in accordance with methods andsystems consistent with the present invention.

Each computer 102 a, 104, and 106 includes a memory (110, 112, and 114,respectively), a secondary storage device (116, 118, and 120,respectively), an I/O device (122, 124, and 126, respectively), and aprocessor (128, 130, and 132, respectively). Memory 110 in computer 102a includes a Client Interface 134 to a Web-based “Distributed Authoringand Versioning” (WebDAV) server 140 in memory 112. Client Interface 134has Process and Plan modules 136 that collectively allow an enterpriseaffiliate to create a reusable workflow and to create and activate aproject plan based on the reusable workflow.

Memory 110 in computer 102 a also includes a target processorinterpreter, such as a Java™ Virtual Machine 138. To permit the ClientInterface 134 to run on most any computer, the Client Interface 134 maybe developed using the Java™ Programming Language. Thus, ClientInterface 134 may include Java™ bytecodes. The Java™ Virtual Machine 138interprets the Java™ bytecodes of the Client Interface 134 so that theClient Interface 134 may execute on computer 102 a.

The WebDAV server 140 in memory 112 of computer 104 operates as avirtual file system for computers 102 a, 102 n, and 106 on the network108. To operate as a virtual file system, WebDAV Server 140 communicateson the network 108 using the WebDAV protocol, and stores files on WebDAVstorage 142. In one implementation, WebDAV storage 142 may be a knowndatabase, such as Microsoft™ Structured Query Language (SQL) storage, orany Java Database Connectivity (JDBC™)-compliant database. In thisimplementation, WebDAV Server 140 includes a database management system(DBMS) or a JDBC™ interface to control access to the WebDAV storage 142.

In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the presentinvention, two separate enterprise affiliates using their respectiveClient Interfaces 134 on their respective computers 102 a and 102 n mayindependently request and view the same workflow or plan stored onWebDAV Storage 142. In addition, the Client Interface 134 allows anyenterprise affiliate to create, delete, move, and copy workflows,project plans, and associated roles/resource lists on WebDAV server 140.Furthermore, properties of a process, a plan, or a task of a plan may beadded, located, or changed on WebDAV Storage 142 by Client Interface 134using known methods of the WebDAV protocol.

The WebDAV protocol is a set of known extensions to the standardHyperText Transfer protocol (HTTP) that allows enterprise affiliatesusing client computers 102 a and 102 n to collaboratively store, edit,and manage files remotely on a Web Server, such as WebDAV Server 140using network 108. As known to one skilled in the art, HTTP defines howmessages sent to or from a Web server on the Internet are formatted andtransmitted. HTTP also defines what actions a Web server or Web browserof a computer on the Internet should take in response to variouscommands submitted as part of an HTTP message.

The WebDAV protocol defines a WebDAV resource to be a collection (e.g.,a directory or folder on WebDAV Storage 142) or a collection member(e.g., a file or Web page on WebDAV Storage 142). Each WebDAV resourcehas a content file and properties associated with the content file. Theproperties include the creation date, the author, and the access rightsfor the WebDAV resource. The WebDAV protocol specifies the methods tocreate, delete, move, and copy a WebDAV resource. It also specifies themethods to add, find, or change a property of a WebDAV resource. TheWebDAV protocol and the HTTP extensions that comprise the WebDAVprotocol are more clearly described in the following reference, which isincorporated herein by reference: HTTP Extensions For DistributedAuthoring—WebDAV, RFC 2518, Standards Track, Proposed Standard, February1999, available at http://andrew2.andrew.cmu.edu/rfc/rfc2518.html.

Memory 114 in computer 106 includes a Tool Server 144. The Tool Server144 includes a WebDAV proxy 146 and Management Modules 148. WebDAV proxy146 mediates communication between the Client Interface 134 and theWebDAV server 140. The messages or requests directed to the WebDAVserver 140 from the Client Interface 134 are initially sent to theWebDAV proxy 146, as discussed in detail below. The WebDAV proxy 146passes these messages and requests to the Management Modules 148. Eachof the Management Modules 148 is configured to inform the WebDAV proxy146 when a message or request has been serviced. If none of theManagement Modules 148 services the message or request, then the WebDAVproxy 146 sends the message or request to the WebDAV Server 140 via thenetwork 108. If, on the other hand, the Management Modules 148 are ableto service the message or request, the message or request is not sent tothe WebDAV Server 140. The types of messages or requests serviced by theManagement Modules 148 include activating a project plan, notifyingvarious enterprise affiliates assigned to each task of the plan, andmanaging the execution of the plan to the enterprise affiliates.

In another implementation, memory 114 in computer 106 includes a WebDAVservlet (not shown), which is an application designed to perform as aWebDAV Engine in lieu of WebDAV Server 140. The WebDAV servlet may bestarted by and executed within the Tool Server 144. In thisimplementation, WebDAV servlet is persistent. Thus, once WebDAV servletis started, it stays in memory and can fulfill multiple requests. WebDAVservlet is configured to control access to WebDAV Storage 142, which maybe included in secondary storage 120 in computer 106.

Memory 114 in computer 106 also includes a target processor interpreter,such as a Java™ Virtual Machine 150. As with the Client Interface 134 oncomputer 102 a, the Tool Server 144 includes Java™ bytecodes that theJava Virtual Machine 150 interprets so that the Tool Server 144 mayexecute on computer 106.

In another implementation, the data processing system 100 may operate ina local host configuration rather than across the network 108. In thisimplementation, the memory 110 of computer 102 a may include the ToolServer 144 and the WebDAV Server 140. In addition, the secondary storagedevice 116 may include the WebDAV Storage 142.

Although aspects of the present invention are described as being storedin memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects canalso be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media,such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, orCD-ROM; a carrier wave from a network, such as Internet; or other formsof RAM or ROM.

FIG. 2 depicts a functional architectural overview of the workflowmodeling and project planning integration tool 200 used to integrateworkflow modeling and project planning. As shown in FIG. 2, the tool 200includes the Client Interface 134 as well as the Tool Server 144.Although part of the same tool 200, the Client Interface 134 and theTool Server 144 may be located on different computer systems, asdiscussed above.

The Client Interface 134 includes a Virtual Pile System (“VFS”)Interface 202 that is configured to allow the Client Interface 134 toconnect to the secondary storage device 116 for local file access or toconnect to the WebDAV Storage 142 via the WebDAV proxy 146 for virtualfile access. To allow the WebDAV proxy 146 to mediate communicationbetween the Client Interface 134 and the WebDAV Storage 142, the VFSInterface 202 is configured to send the virtual file access requestsfrom the Client Interface 134 to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) ornetwork address for the WebDAV proxy 146. For example, the URL for theWebDAV proxy 146 may be “http://www.ToolServer.com/WebDAVproxy.” A URLtypically consists of an access protocol (e.g., http), a domain name(e.g., www.ToolServer.com), and, optionally, the path to a file orresource residing on that server (e.g., WebDAVproxy). If the Tool Server144, where the WebDAV proxy 146 is located, has an IP address of192.168.5.1 and an assigned port address of 8088, then the URL for theWebDAV proxy translates to “http:/1192.168.5.1:8088/WebDAVproxy.”

As discussed above, the VFS Interface 202 initially sends the requeststhat the Client Interface 134 directs to the WebDAV Storage 142 to theWebDAV proxy 146. The WebDAV proxy 146 sends these requests to theManagement Modules 148. After the Management Modules 148 review theserequests, the WebDAV proxy 146 sends the request to the WebDAV server140 if the Management Modules 148 do not respond to the requests fromthe Client Interface 134. If the request is to be sent to the WebDAVserver 140, the Tool Server 144 directs the request to a URL or networkaddress for the WebDAV server 140.

The Client Interface 134 also includes a module loader 204 to load theProcess and Plan modules 136. As one skilled in the art will appreciate,Client Interface 134 may be developed so that the functionality providedby Process and Plan modules 136 is not loaded by a known module loader204, but integrally incorporated within the element corresponding to theClient Interface 134. The Process and Plan modules 136 produce therequests to store or modify the various client files on the WebDAVstorage 142. As further described below, the various types of clientfiles include a condition model, a user profile, a resource profile, aworkflow definition file, and a plan definition file. Each of thesefiles has properties defined in accordance with the WebDAV protocol. Thevarious types of client files follow a schema or document typedefinition that is known to the Tool Server 144 so that the Tool Server144 can identify the type of client file sent by the Client Interface134 and intercepted by the WebDAV Proxy 146. In addition, each type ofclient file has a unique identifier, such as a URL network address,which the Tool Server 144 may use to locate the associated client filefor processing. The various types of client files are discussed incontext with the general description of the Process and Plan modules 136and also further discussed with the implementation details of creating aworkflow and a project plan from the workflow. Although XML files areused to represent the client files used with methods and systemsconsistent with the present invention, one skilled in the art willrecognize that any file type can be used to represent the client files.

The Process and Plan Modules 136 include a Resource Manager Module 206,an Activity I/O Condition Designer Module 208, a Process Designer Module210, a Project Plan Manager Module 212, and a Task Tracker Module 214.The Resource Manager Module 206 allows an enterprise affiliate withsystem administrative privileges or permissions, such as a projectmanager, to create, modify, and store a user profile for an enterpriseaffiliate. The user profile identifies the access control rights thatare associated with the enterprise affiliate, such as whether theenterprise affiliate may create or edit or delete a project plan basedon a workflow or whether the enterprise affiliate is limited to viewingan existing workflow or plan. When the Client Interface 134 sends arequest to the WebDAV Server 140 to store the user profile, the ClientInterface 134 may specify that the user profile be stored with a uniqueidentifier so that the Tool Server 144 may later locate the user profilefor further processing. For example, the Client Interface 134 mayrequest that the unique identifier be a location or URL where the userprofile is to be stored on the WebDAV Storage 142. If the uniqueidentifier is stored as a property of the user profile on the WebDAVstorage 142, the Client Interface 134 sends a request to the WebDAVServer 140 to set the value of the property.

The Resource Manager Module 206 also allows an enterprise affiliate tocreate, modify, and store the role profiles that may be assigned to anactivity of a workflow that is modeled using the tool 200. The roleprofile identifies a group of resources that may be assigned to completea task created from the activity. The role profile is a type of clientfile that the Client Interface 134 may store on WebDAV storage 142 witha unique identifier (e.g., a URL for the role profile) to locate therole profile at a later time. A role profile may include a Rolename thatrepresents a “capability” or “skill set” for the role. For example,using methods and systems consistent with the present invention, anenterprise affiliate may identify one of the following Rolenames to theResource Manager Module 206 so that the associated role profiles arelater available to assign when defining a software development process:Manager, Analyst, Software Architect, Software Developer, Tester,Hardware Architect, and Editor.

In addition to the above, the Resource Manager Module 206 further allowsan enterprise affiliate to create, modify, and store the resourceprofiles (e.g., the person, equipment, or systems, such as a developmentfacility) that may be assigned to a task of a plan created from aworkflow. The resource profile includes a resource ID and a uniqueidentifier for the role profile so that the Client Interface 134 maycommunicate to the Tool Server 144 that the identified resource hasskills or capabilities corresponding to the role profile. For example,when the resource is a person, the Tool Server 144 may recognize thatthe person can play a given role (e.g., Analyst) in a specific activity(e.g., Requirements Analysis) in a workflow (e.g., Software DevelopmentProcess) based on the skills or capabilities required by the roleassigned to the activity to be performed.

The Activity I/O Condition Designer Module 208 allows an enterpriseaffiliate, such as a manager, to define a condition model, i.e., aninput condition or an output condition, for an activity of a workflow.The Activity I/O Condition Designer Module 208 stores the conditionmodel with a unique identifier so that the Tool Server 144 may laterlocate the condition model for processing, such as when a task of a planis created from the activity of the workflow, as explained below.

As discussed above, there are two types of workflows: a documentworkflow and a task workflow. Similarly, there are two types ofconditions: a document-type condition and a logic-type condition. TheActivity I/O Condition Designer Module 208 allows the enterpriseaffiliate to create a condition model based on one of these twocondition types. The Activity I/O Condition Designer Module 208 alsoallows the enterprise affiliate to assign a document-type conditionmodel or a logic-type condition model to an activity when creating theactivity in a workflow. Each document-type and logic-type conditionmodel has properties defined by the enterprise affiliate that createdthe respective condition model using the Activity I/O Condition DesignerModule 208.

The properties of the document-type condition model include a locationproperty (e.g., a URL) identifying the location of the document orartifact being monitored. Thus, when executing a task based on anactivity, the Client Interface 134 uses the location property to notifythe resource responsible for the task where to find the document orartifact so that the resource may complete its task.

Another property of the document-type condition model is a stateproperty that indicates the allowable states of the document orartifact. For example, the document may have the states “DRAFT” and“APPROVED.” When creating the workflow, the enterprise affiliate assignsone of these allowable states as a condition for entry into or exit fromthe activity (or the task created from the activity). When the task isactivated, the Workflow Engine 222 evaluates whether the state propertyof the document condition satisfies the input or output condition of theactivated task before starting or closing the task.

When creating a logic-type condition model, Activity I/O ConditionDesigner Module 208 allows the enterprise affiliate to define theproperties shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Property Description Name The name used to identify thecondition. Description A description of the condition. When to Thissection identifies when and/or how Check often the condition should bechecked. Abs. Time The condition is checked when this absolute time(calendar time) arrives. Period Integer expression in Javascript thatdefines the periodicity of condition check, where a “1” means once aminute. (If absolute time is also specified, then the condition shouldbe checked when the absolute time arrives and periodically thereafter.)URL The condition is checked after URL Change undergoes a property orcontent change. Task The condition is checked when the task Change thatis specified during plan creation changes its state (e.g., starts,finishes). Any The condition is checked when any HTTP Request request isdetected. Script The script to run when the condition is met. The scriptmust return “true” or “false” (a Boolean). Script is an extensiblemethod for users to enter in ad hoc logic.

When a plan is created from a workflow, the Client Interface 134 usesthe logic-type condition model to generate a logic-type condition forentry/exit and the script (e.g., logic element) to be performed todetermine if the condition is met. For example, the enterprise affiliatemay indicate to the Activity I/O Condition Designer Module 208 that thecondition is to check if the task is complete and that the logic to beperformed is to check the status property of the task. In this case, theuser or resource assigned to this task must notify the Client Interface134 that the task is complete. In another example, the enterpriseaffiliate may indicate to the Activity I/O Condition Designer Module 208that the condition is to check if the task is complete and that thelogic to be performed is to check for the existence of a file in aspecific directory folder on WebDAV Storage 142 in order to determine ifthe task is complete. In this case, the user or resource assigned tothis task must create or move a file into the specific directory folderto indicate that the task is complete.

The Process Designer Module 210 allows an enterprise affiliate tocreate, modify, and store a workflow. When the enterprise affiliateindicates to Process Designer Module 210 that the modeled process is tobe saved, Process Designer Module 210 produces a workflow definitionfile based on the modeled workflow object. Client Interface 134 thensends as the workflow definition file as a client file to WebDAV Server140 to be stored on WebDAV Storage 142. Each workflow definition fileproduced by Process Designer Module 210 includes a unique identifier(e.g., a URL for the workflow definition file) so that Tool Server 144may later locate the workflow definition file corresponding to themodeled workflow for further processing.

Project Plan Manager Module 212 allows an enterprise affiliate to createand activate a project plan from a workflow definition file. In general,upon request to create a project plan, Project Plan Manager Module 212sends a query message to the WebDAV Server 140 for the workflowdefinition files contained in WebDAV Storage 142. As further describedbelow, Project Plan Manager Module 212 receives the workflow definitionfiles, allows the enterprise affiliate to select one of the workflowdefinition files to create a project plan, and then produces a plandefinition file based on the selected workflow definition file. Wheninstructed to save the plan by the enterprise affiliate, Project PlanManager Module 212 sends the plan definition file as a client file toWebDAV Server 140 to be stored on WebDAV Storage 142. Each plandefinition file produced by Process Designer Module 210 includes aunique identifier (e.g., a URL for the plan definition file) so thatTool Server 144 may later locate the workflow definition filecorresponding to the modeled workflow for further processing.

The Task Tracker Module 214 allows an enterprise affiliate to view thetasks of an activated project plan that are assigned to a specificresource, to activate or start a task of the project plan (e.g.,indicate actual start time to Client Interface 134), to open orcheck-out a document artifact needed to accomplish the task, to close orcheck-in the document artifact after accomplishing the task, and toindicate that the task is completed.

The Tool Server 144 includes a module loader 216 to load the ManagementModules 148. Similar to the Client Interface 134, the Tool Server 144may be developed so that the functionality provided by ManagementModules 148 is not loaded by a known module loader 216, but integrallyincorporated within the element corresponding to the Tool Server 144.Management Modules 148 include a User Authorization Module 218, aResource/Role Management Module 220, and a Workflow Engine 222. TheWorkflow Engine 222 includes a Project Plan Management Module 224 and aProject Task Management Module 226.

When the Client Interface 134 requests access to a client file on theWebDAV Storage 142, the User Authorization Module 218 verifies that thatthe enterprise affiliate making the request has a user profile on theWebDAV Storage 142 with the proper authorization or permission to accessthe requested client file. The User Authorization Module 218 may beconnected to a Light Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Import Module 228,which follows a known LDAP protocol to allow the User AuthorizationModule 218 to obtain existing user profiles from another computer onnetwork 108. As known to those skilled in the art, an LDAP protocol isbased on “entries,” where an entry is a collection of attributes thathave a “distinguished name” (DN). According to the LDAP protocol,directory entries are arranged in a hierarchical tree-like structurethat reflects political, geographic, and/or organizational boundaries.For example, entries representing countries may appear at the top of thetree. The entries below the countries may represent states or nationalorganizations. Below the states or national organizations may be entriesrepresenting people (e.g., user profiles), organizational units,printers, documents, or any other accessible entity. Each level in thehierarchical tree-like structure for the directory entries may beidentified by a known standardized keyword, such as “CN” for the commonname of the entry (e.g., user profile), “L” for locality name, “ST” forstate or province name, “O” for organization name, “OU” fororganizational unit name, and “C” for country name. The LDAP ImportModule 228 uses a DN to refer to the entry unambiguously via aconcatenation of the hierarchical tree-like structure. After userprofiles are retrieved by the User Authorization Module 218 via the LDAPimport module 228, the user profiles may then be stored on the WebDAVStorage 142 by a request from the Client Interface 134.

The Resource/Role Management Module 220 reviews requests from anenterprise affiliate to assign a resource to a plan (e.g., to assign auser to a task of the plan). The Resource/Role Management Module 220 maycheck the resource profile corresponding to the assigned resource on theWebDAV Storage 142 to verify that the resource is not overloaded. Forexample, the Resource/Role Management Module 220 determines whether aresource is already assigned to another task in another plan during thesame time frame, thus preventing it from being able to complete one ofthe tasks to which it is assigned. The Resource/Role Management Module220 may also be connected to the LDAP Import Module 228 to allow theResource/Role Management Module 220 to obtain existing resource profilesfrom another computer on network 108. The resource profiles may also bestored on WebDAV Storage 142 by a request from Client Interface 134.

The Workflow Engine 222 reviews requests to activate, deactivate, orupdate a plan. For example, a request to update a plan occurs if theenterprise affiliate who is an owner of a task indicates in its requestthat the task is complete. The Workflow Engine 222 also manages theexecution of the activated plans.

High-Level Process

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating the high-level processperformed by the workflow modeling and project planning integration toolin accordance with methods and systems consistent with the presentinvention. Initially, the tool creates or retrieves a workflow (step302). The tool then displays the workflow (step 304). The workflowcomprises a set of activities that represents the steps to be performedas part of a plan executed from the workflow. Each activity has anactivity description and at least one role responsible for the activity.The activity description indicates what step is to be performed by therole.

There are two types of workflows: a document workflow and a taskworkflow. In a document workflow, the state of one document (or, moregenerally, any item or artifact) is monitored by the activities of theworkflow. Thus, a document workflow cannot usually have parallelactivities, which would require the parallel activities to monitor thestates of more than one artifact or would require the parallelactivities to monitor different states of the same artifactsimultaneously. The document is in one state at a time. FIG. 4 depictsan exemplary document workflow 400. As shown, the workflow 400 includesa start element 402, an end element 404, and two activities, “Step 1”406 and “Step 2” 408. Because “Step 1” 406 occurs directly before “Step2” 408, “Step 1” 406 is the “predecessor activity” to “Step 2” 408.Similarly, “Step 2” 408 is the “successor activity” to “Step 1” 406. Theworkflow 400 is used to monitor the state of Artifact 410. Inparticular, in “Step 1” 406, the state of Artifact 410 is “State 1” 412,in “Step 2” 408, the state of Artifact 410 is “State 2” 414, and at theend 404 of the workflow, the state of Artifact 410 is “Complete” 416.

A task workflow, on the other hand, typically has no limitationsregarding the number of artifacts that may be monitored or modified byeach activity of the workflow to achieve or contribute to the businessprocess goal, such as an auditing process that determines if multipleaccounts are balanced properly. FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary taskworkflow 500. The task workflow 500 includes a start element 502, an endelement 504, two serial activities 506 and 508 and two parallelactivities 510 and 512. The workflow also includes two synch bars 514and 516, which are used to connect the ends of parallel activities.Contrary to the document workflow, the task workflow allows for parallelactivities.

Another exemplary workflow 600 is depicted in FIG. 6. The workflow 600includes a start element 602 and an end element 604. The first activityof the workflow 600 is “Get Parts” 606, which is followed by a logicactivity, “L or Rt Handed?” 608. Logic activities have two successoractivities: a “default activity” and a “non-default activity.” As thename implies, the workflow generally follows the path of the defaultactivity unless a condition is met in the logic activity, as discussedin detail below. In FIG. 6, the default activity is “Right” 610. Thenon-default activity is “Left” 612, which is followed by anotheractivity “Left Special” 614. The default path is represented as a solidconnector 616 while the non-default path is represented as a dottedconnector 618. One skilled in the art, however, will recognize that anyvisible difference in the connectors, e.g., a change in type, color,shading, labeling, etc., may be used to represent both the default pathas well as the non-default path. Both the default activity 610 and thenon-default activities 612 and 614 are followed by another activity,“Complete Assembly” 620. In addition, though we show only two paths (616& 618) out of the decision block 608, there could be any number of exitpaths (not shown).

Returning to FIG. 3, the next step performed by the tool is to create aplan from the workflow (step 306). Each activity in the default path ofthe workflow generally corresponds to a task in the plan. The taskidentifies the scheduled start and stop times for the task. The toolthen displays the plan (step 308). For example, the plan created fromthe workflow 400 depicted in FIG. 4 is shown in FIG. 7. The plan 700includes two tasks 702 and 704 that correspond to the two activities 406and 408 from the workflow 400. The first task 702 is scheduled to beginat 9 a.m. 706 on Aug. 1, 2001 (not shown), and end at 6 p.m. 708 on thesame day. The second task 704 is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. 710 onAug. 2, 2001 (712) and end at 5 p.m. 714 on the same day.

The plan 800 created from the workflow 500 depicted in FIG. 5 is shownin FIG. 8. The plan 800 includes two serial tasks 802 and 804 thatcorrespond to the two serial activities 506 and 508 from the workflow500. The plan 800 also includes two parallel tasks 806 and 808 thatcorrespond to the two parallel activities 510 and 512 from the workflow500. As shown in FIG. 8, “Serial 1” task 802 is scheduled to begin at 9a.m. 810 on Aug. 1, 2001 (812) and end at 5:30 p.m. 814 on the same day.The parallel tasks 806 and 808 are scheduled to start at the completionof the “Serial 1” task 802, and are scheduled to end at 6 p.m. 816 onAug. 2, 2001 (818). The “Serial 2” task 804 is scheduled to begin uponcompletion of the parallel tasks 806 and 808 and is scheduled to end at6 p.m. 820 on Aug. 3, 2001 (822).

The plan 900 created from the workflow 600 depicted in FIG. 6 is shownin FIG. 9. The plan 900 includes a task 902 corresponding to theactivity “Get Parts” 606, followed by a task 904 corresponding to theactivity “L or Rt Handed?” 608. The following task 906 corresponds tothe activity “Right” 610. The final task 908 corresponds to the activity“Complete Assembly” 620. The plan 900 depicts the default path, and doesnot include any of the tasks corresponding to the non-default path.Although the start and end times are not depicted in the plan 900 shownin FIG. 9, each task has a scheduled start and stop time. In addition,the tool 200 requires that an enterprise affiliate assign a resource toeach task, as described below.

Returning to the high-level process of FIG. 3, the tool then activatesthe plan (step 310). Next, the tool manages the execution of theactivated plan (step 312). The tool also modifies the display of theplan as each task is executed (step 314). The tool then determineswhether the execution of the plan is complete (step 316). If theexecution of the plan is complete, processing ends. Otherwise,processing continues to step 312.

For the exemplary plan 700 depicted in FIG. 7, upon activation, thefirst task 702 begins execution. The tool depicts the executing task1002 by darkening the outer borders of the block representing the task1002, as depicted in the plan 1000 shown in FIG. 10. After completion ofthe task, the tool depicts the executed task 1102 as a darkened block inthe plan 1100, as shown in FIG. 11. At this point, the second task 1104begins execution, as indicated by the darkened outer borders of the task1104. Finally, after both tasks 1102 and 1104 of the plan 1100 have beenexecuted, both tasks 1202 and 1204 are depicted as darkened blocks inthe plan 1200, as shown in FIG. 12. In this embodiment, the toolrepresents an executing task with darkened borders and represents anexecuted task as a darkened block. One skilled in the art, however, willrecognize that any visible change in the blocks representing the tasks,e.g., a change in shape, color, shading, labeling, etc., may be used torepresent the tasks in their various states. For example, in anotherimplementation, color may be used to indicate active tasks; for examplea gray rectangle may be used behind the task to indicate an actualactivity since the actual dates may not coincide with the dates of theplanned task. Thus, the representation of the tasks used in the methods,systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the presentinvention are not limited to those used in the present embodiment.

The activation and execution of the tasks of the plan 800 depicted inFIG. 8 are shown in FIGS. 13-16. FIG. 13 depicts the state of the plan1300 while the “Serial 1” task 1302 is executing. FIG. 14 depicts thestate of the plan 1400 after execution of the “Serial 1” task 1402,while the “Parallel 1” and the “Parallel 2” tasks 1404 and 1406 areexecuting. FIG. 15 depicts the state of the plan 1500 after execution ofthe “Serial 1” task 1502 and the “Parallel 1” and the “Parallel 2” tasks1504 and 1506, while the “Serial 2” task 1508 is executing. Finally,FIG. 16 depicts the state of the plan 1600 after execution of the tasks1602, 1604, 1606, and 1608.

As discussed above, FIG. 9 represents a plan 900 created from a workflow600 having a logic block 608. The activation and execution of the tasksof the plan 900 following the default path are shown in FIGS. 17-21,while the activation and execution of the tasks of the plan 900following the non-default path are shown in FIGS. 22-27.

FIG. 17 depicts the state of the plan 1700 while the “Get Parts” task1702 is executing. FIG. 18 depicts the state of the plan 1800 after theexecution of the “Get Parts” task 1802, while the “L Or Rt Handed?”logic task 1804 is executing. The logic task may pop up a dialog (notshown) to prompt the resource assigned to this task to provide an answerfor this “left or right-handed” question. In addition, the tool allowsthe question to be “answered” by running a logic script. This script mayexamine properties of an indicated artifact or it may execute a separateprogram on a separate system to compute the answer. Upon selection ofthe default path, the plan 1900 shown in FIG. 19 depicts both the “GetParts” task 1902 and the “L Or Rt Handed?” logic task 1904 in executedstates, while the “Right” task 1906 is depicted in an executing state.After the execution of the “Right” task 1906 is complete, the state ofthe plan 2000 is depicted in FIG. 20 with the “Get Parts” task 2002, the“L Or Rt Handed?” logic task 2004, and the “Right” task 2006 in executedstates and with the “Complete Assembly” task 2008 in an executing state.Finally, upon completion of the “Complete Assembly” task 2008, the stateof the plan 2100 after execution of the tasks 2102, 2104, 2106, and 2108is complete is depicted in FIG. 21.

Alternatively, if the non-default path is to be chosen, the execution ofthe plan is initially the same as when the default path is chosen. Thus,as depicted in FIG. 22, the plan 2200 begins with the execution of the“Get Parts” task 2202. After completion of the “Get Parts” task 2202,the plan 2300 shown in FIG. 23 depicts the “Get Parts” task 2302 in anexecuted state while the “L Or Rt Handed?” task 2304 is shown in anexecuting state. At this point, the resource assigned to choose thedefault or the non-default path chooses the non-default path, thuscompleting the execution of the “L Or Rt Handed?” task 2404, asindicated in FIG. 24. Upon selection of the non-default path, the tool200 modifies the plan 2400 to correspond to the non-default path of thecorresponding workflow. The plan 2400 depicts the tasks included in thenon-default path. Thus, the plan 2400 includes the “Left” and “LeftSpecial” tasks 2406 and 2408 rather than the “Right” task 2306, which isdepicted in FIG. 23 before the non-default path was chosen. As shown inFIG. 24, the “Left” task 2406 is executing. FIG. 25 depicts the plan2500 after the “Get Parts” task 2502, the “L Or Rt Handed?” logic task2504, and the “Left” task 2506 have been executed, while the “LeftSpecial” task 2508 is executing. Continuing with the execution of theplan, FIG. 26 depicts the state of the plan 2600 after the “Get Parts”task 2602, the “L Or Rt Handed?” logic task 2604, the “Left” task 2606,and the “Left Special” task 2608 are done executing, while the “CompleteAssembly” task 2610 is executing. Finally, FIG. 27 depicts the state ofthe plan 2700 after completion of the tasks 2702, 2704, 2706, 2708, and2710.

Retrieving or Creating a Workflow

FIGS. 28A-C depict a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process forretrieving or creating a workflow, i.e., step 302 in FIG. 3. Initially,the tool 200 determines whether to use an existing process or workflowgroup (step 2802). A workflow group is a collection of workflows (e.g.,a directory or folder containing the collection of workflows) created bythe Client Interface 134 on WebDAV Storage 142. Each workflow group iscreated by the Client Interface 134 on WebDAV Storage 142 with the“workflow group” property as explained further below. When creating aworkflow, the Client Interface 134 allows the enterprise affiliate tostore the workflow within an identified workflow group so that anyenterprise affiliate using the Client Interface 134 is able to easilyidentify related workflows using a hierarchical relationship. Forexample, software-related workflows may be stored within the sameworkflow group so that an enterprise affiliate is able to quickly locatea desired workflow in order to create a corresponding plan using theClient Interface 134. One skilled in the art will appreciate that ClientInterface 134 may store a workflow on WebDAV Storage 142 withoutassociating the workflow with a workflow group.

The tool 200 receives user input from an enterprise affiliate withsystem administrative privileges or permissions, such as a processdesigner or a project manager, to determine whether to retrieve anexisting workflow group or to create a new workflow group. If the tool200 determines that it will use an existing workflow group, the tool 200receives an identification of the workflow group from the enterpriseaffiliate (step 2804). In one implementation, the Client Interface 134may retrieve the identifications for the workflow groups on the WebDAVStorage 142 by requesting that the folders or directories on WebDAVStorage 142 having a “workflow” property be returned by the WebDAVServer 140. The Client Interface may use any known method in accordancewith WebDAV protocol to request that the WebDAV Server 140 return anydirectory or folder on WebDAV Storage 142 that corresponds to a workflowgroup. The tool 200 may then display the available workflow groups toallow the enterprise affiliate to select one of the available workflowgroups. For example, as shown on the user interface 2900 depicted inFIG. 29, the tool 200 may display a hierarchical view 2902 of anidentified workflow group 2904 stored on the root directory 2906 ofWebDAV Storage 142. Alternatively, the enterprise affiliate may enterthe identification of the desired workflow group to the tool 200 forretrieval. Using the identification, the tool 200 then retrieves theworkflow group (step 2806).

If the tool 200 determines that a new workflow group will be created,the tool 200 receives the name of the workflow group from the enterpriseaffiliate (step 2808). For example, the enterprise affiliate may requesta new workflow group by clicking on “Process Designer” button 2908 ofthe user interface 2900 depicted in FIG. 29. The enterprise affiliatemay, alternatively, use any known data input technique, such as an iconor keyboard input, to indicate the request to the tool 200. Uponselecting the “Process Designer” button 2908, the tool 200 displays anexemplary user interface 3000 depicted in FIG. 30 for receiving a newworkflow group identification 3002 via keyboard input from an enterpriseaffiliate using computer 102 a or 102 n.

After receiving the new Workflow group identification, the tool 200creates a new workflow group in storage (step 2810). For example, thetool 200 may create the workflow group on WebDAV Storage 142. Togenerate a new workflow group on WebDAV Storage 142, the ClientInterface 134 sends the WebDAV Server 140 a request to create a newcollection or folder on WebDAV Storage 142 with the same identificationas the new workflow group identification 3002. In accordance with WebDAVprotocol, the Client Interface 134 receives a response from the WebDAVServer 140 confirming that the new workflow group folder was created onWebDAV Storage 142. As previously discussed, when a new collection orfolder is created using the WebDAV protocol, the WebDAV properties(e.g., “date of creation,” “property name” and “lockdiscovery”properties) are created and stored in association with the new directoryby the WebDAV Server 140. Thus, when generating the new workflow group,the Client Interface 134 also sets the “property name” of the newworkflow group to be “workflow group” so that the Client Interface maysubsequently use known WebDAV methods, such as “PropFind,” to retrievethe identification of each workflow group on WebDAV Storage 142.

After retrieving an existing workflow group or creating a new workflowgroup, the tool 200 determines whether to use an existing workflow (step2812). The tool 200 receives user input from an enterprise affiliatewith appropriate privileges or permissions to determine whether toretrieve an existing workflow or to create a new workflow. If the tool200 determines that it will use an existing workflow, the tool 200receives an identification of the workflow from the enterprise affiliate(step 2814). In one implementation, the Client Interface 134 mayretrieve the identifications for the workflows in the selected workflowgroup and display the available workflows to allow the enterpriseaffiliate to select one of the available workflows. Alternatively, theenterprise affiliate may enter the identification of the desiredworkflow to the tool 200 for retrieval. Using the identification, thetool 200 then retrieves the workflow (step 2816).

If the tool 200 determines that a new workflow will be created, the tool200 receives the name of the workflow from the enterprise affiliate(step 2818). For example, the enterprise affiliate may request a newworkflow by clicking on the desired workflow group 3102 and selectingthe “New Process” option 3104 from a pull-down menu 3106 on the userinterface 3100 depicted in FIG. 31. The enterprise affiliate may,alternatively, use any known data input technique, such as an icon orkeyboard input, to indicate the request to the tool 200. Upon selectingthe “New Process” option 3104, the tool 200 may display the exemplarydialog box 3200 depicted in FIG. 32 to the enterprise affiliate. Theenterprise affiliate may then enter the name of a new workflow 3202.After receiving the name for the workflow, the tool 200 creates theworkflow in storage (step 2820).

FIGS. 33A-C depict an exemplary workflow definition file 3300 that isproduced by the tool 200 when the workflow 600 depicted in FIG. 6 iscreated. The name 3302 of the workflow, “Logic Branch Project,” isidentified in the workflow definition file 3300. Also, as shown in thedefinition file 3300, the workflow 600 does not have a workflow group3304. The element 3306 in the workflow definition file 3300 representsthe “Get Parts” activity 606. Similarly, the element 3308 (FIG. 33C)represents the “L or Rt Handed?” logic activity 608, the element 3310represents the “Right” activity 610, the element 3312 represents the“Left” activity 612, the element 3314 represents the “Left Special”activity 614, and the element 3316 represents the “Complete Assembly”activity 620. The start element 602 is represented by the element 3318,and the end element 604 is represented by the element 3320.

The next step performed by the tool 200 is to receive an indication ofthe type of activity to be created for the workflow (step 2822 in FIG.28B). As discussed above, the activity may be a standard activity or alogic activity. For example, the workflow 3402 depicted in the userinterface 3400 of FIG. 34 includes five standard activities 3404, 3406,3408, 3410, and 3412. The workflow 3402 also includes one logic activity3414. The selection of the type of activity may be made by clicking onthe icon for a standard activity 3416 or the icon for the logic activity3418. Alternatively, any known data input technique, such as a pull-downmenu or keyboard input, may be used to select the type of activity.

After receiving an indication of the type of activity, the tool 200receives the name of the activity (step 2824). The names of theactivities depicted in the workflow 3402 are included with the activity.Thus, the name of activity 3404 is “Assignment,” the name of activity3406 is “Analysis,” etc.

Returning to the example workflow 600 depicted in FIG. 6, the name ofthe first activity 606 is “Get Parts,” which is identified by theelement 3322 in the workflow definition file 3300 of FIG. 33. Similarly,the name of the logic activity 608 is “L or Rt Handed?,” which isidentified by the element 3324. The name of the activity 610 is “Right,”as identified by the element 3326. The name of the activity 612 is“Left,” as identified by the element 3328. The name of the activity 614is “Left Special,” as identified by the element 3330. Finally, the nameof the activity 620 is “Complete Activity,” as identified by the element3332.

After receiving a name for the activity, the tool 200 receives anindication of the role responsible for the activity (step 2826). Asdiscussed above, the Client Interface (via Resource Manager Module 206)allows an enterprise affiliate to identify a role or role profile thatmay be assigned to an activity of the workflow. A role profile includesa Rolename that represents a “capability” or “skill set,” which isneeded to perform a task of a plan created from the workflow, where thetask corresponds to the activity of the workflow. For example, FIG. 35depicts a user interface 3500 displayed by the Client Interface toreceive a role profile. In the implementation shown in FIG. 35, theClient Interface receives a Rolename 3502 (e.g., “Project Manager”) forthe role profile via the enterprise affiliate clicking on an “Add”button 3504 and then entering Rolename 3502 in a dialog box 3506 that isdisplayed by the Client Interface. In another implementation, the ClientInterface may also receive as additional entries (not shown) to dialogbox 3506 a skill and an associated skill level for Rolename 3502 as partof this role profile. For example, the enterprise affiliate may indicateto the Client Interface via the additional entries to dialog box 3506that the Rolename 3502 of “Project Manager” be associated with a skillentitled “Object-oriented software programming” and with a skillstrength of “7” on a scale of 10. Assuming an enterprise affiliate isdeveloping a workflow for producing a software development tool, theenterprise affiliate may assign to activities in the workflow the“Project Manager” role profile with this skill and skill level. Thus,when a plan is created from this workflow, a resource having theappropriate skill and skill level will automatically be assigned by theClient Interface to tasks corresponding to the activities with the“Project Manager” role assignment.

The tool 200 stores the role profiles in association with the selectedworkflow activity on WebDAV Storage 142. The tool 200 saves significantcosts in developing multiple workflows by allowing the enterpriseaffiliate to store the role profiles in association with the selectedworkflow activity on WebDAV Storage 142 so that the role profiles may beavailable for the enterprise affiliate to assign to an activity ofanother workflow that is also related to the selected workflow activity.In one implementation, the Client Interface stores the role profiles ina single role definition file (not shown) on WebDAV Storage 142. Inanother implementation, the Client Interface stores the role profiles inseparate files (not shown) on WebDAV Storage 142. Each separate file hasa name that is the same as the received Rolename 3502. In thisimplementation, using known WebDAV protocol, the Client Interfacedefines an associated WebDAV property having a common name, such as“role profile,” so that the Client Interface may later retrieve the roleprofiles stored on WebDAV storage.

The role profiles may also be stored with the workflow definition file.As shown in the workflow definition file 3300 depicted in FIG. 33, therole profile 3334 for the “Get Parts” activity 606 indicates that therole responsible for the activity is “Assembler” 3336. Similarly, therole profile 3338 for the “L or Rt Handed?” activity 608 indicates thatthe role responsible for the activity is “Assembler” 3340. The roleprofile 3342 for the “Right” activity 610 indicates that the roleresponsible for the activity is “Assembler” 3344. The role profile 3346for the “Left” activity 612 indicates that the role responsible for theactivity is “Assembler” 3348. The role profile 3350 for the “LeftSpecial” activity 614 indicates that the role responsible for theactivity is “Assembler” 3352. Finally, the role profile 3354 for the“Complete Assembly” activity 620 indicates that the role responsible forthe activity is “Assembler” 3356.

The next step performed by the tool 200 is to determine whether theactivity has any predecessor activities (step 2828). If the activitydoes have a predecessor activity, the tool 200 receives an indication ofthe predecessor activities from the workflow definition file (step2830). After checking for any predecessor activities and/or receivingthe predecessor activities, the tool 200 determines whether the activityhas any successor activities (step 2832). If the activity has asuccessor activity, the tool 200 receives an indication of the successoractivities from the workflow definition file (step 2834). In the userinterface 3400 of FIG. 34, the “Path” icon 3420 is used to connect thepredecessor activity to the successor activity. For example, in theworkflow 3402, a path 3422 was drawn from the “Assignment” activity 3404to the “Analysis” activity 3406. Thus, the “Assignment” activity 3404 isthe predecessor activity to the “Analysis” activity 3406, and the“Analysis” activity 3406 is the successor activity to the “Assignment”activity 3404. Alternatively, a “Vertical Fork/Join” icon 3424 or a“Horizontal Fork/Join” activity may be used to connect more than onepredecessor activities to a successor activity, or to connect apredecessor activity to more than one successor activities.

In the workflow 600 depicted in FIG. 6, the activity ID 3358 of the “GetParts” activity 606 is “10.” The predecessor 3360 to the “Get Parts”activity 606 has an ID of “11” 3362, which corresponds to the startelement 602. The successor 3364 to the “Get Parts” activity 606 has anID of “1522” 3366, which corresponds to the “L or Rt Handed?” logicactivity 608. The predecessor 3368 to the “L or Rt Handed?” logicactivity 608 has an ID of “10” 3358, which corresponds to the “GetParts” activity 606. Because the “L or Rt Handed?” activity 608 is alogic activity, it has both a default successor and a non-defaultsuccessor. Thus, the workflow definition file 3300 identifies two pathsout of the “L or Rt Handed?” logic activity 608, one path 3370 has an IDof “1525” 3372, which corresponds to the “Right” activity 610, and theother path 3374 has an ID of “1523” 3376, which corresponds to the“Left” activity 612. The element representing the “L or Rt Handed? logicactivity 608 also identifies that the default path 3378 has an ID of“1525” 3372, which corresponds to the “Right” activity 610. Thepredecessor 3380 to the “Right” activity 610 and the predecessor 3382 tothe “Left” activity 612 have an ID of “1522” 3366, which corresponds tothe “L or Rt Handed?” logic activity 608. The remaining predecessor andsuccessors follow this convention.

After checking for any successor activities and/or receiving thesuccessor activities, the tool 200 determines whether the activity hasany on-entry scripts (step 2836). An on-entry script is a step to beperformed by the tool 200 upon entry into the activity. For example, theon-entry script may send an email notifying an interested user about theactivity being started. The on-entry script may also send a dialog boxto an enterprise affiliate to obtain data in real-time, or send arequest to a separate device to gather input, e.g., by sending a messageto a computer to receive data files. Other examples of on-entry scriptsinclude checking stock levels and issuing reorder commands, ifnecessary, or paging the user assigned to perform the activity. If theactivity has an on-entry script, the tool 200 receives an indication ofthe on-entry scripts (step 2838). After checking for any on-entryscripts and/or receiving the on-entry scripts, the tool 200 determineswhether the activity has any on-exit scripts (step 2840 in FIG. 28C). Anon-exit script is a step to be performed by the tool 200 upon exitingthe activity. For example, the on-exit script may send an emailnotifying an interested user about the end of an activity. Otherexamples of on-exit scripts include sending a message to another deviceto have the other device perform enterprise application integration,notifying a downstream consumer about the activity so that the consumerknows what is coming, and placing an activity on a user's personalcalendar. If the activity has an on-exit script, the tool 200 receivesan indication of the on-exit scripts (step 2842). For example, the“Complete Assembly” activity 620 depicted in FIG. 6 includes both anon-entry script 3384 as well as an on-exit script 3386. Upon enteringthe task created from the “Complete Assembly” activity, the tool 200sends an email to the owner indicating that the “Debugging periodstarted” 3388. Prior to exiting the task created from the “CompleteAssembly” activity, the tool 200 sends an email to the owner indicatingthat the “Debugging finished” 3390.

After checking for any on-exit scripts and/or receiving the on-exitscripts, the tool 200 determines whether the activity has any input(i.e., begin or starting) conditions (step 2844). If the activity has aninput condition, the tool 200 receives an indication of the inputconditions (step 2846). Example input conditions are to expect anartifact required for the task to have a specific status. After checkingfor any input conditions and/or receiving the input conditions, the tool200 determines whether the activity has any output (i.e., exit orending) conditions (step 2848). An example exit condition could be toautomatically check the quality of an artifact generated by the task. Ifthe artifact meets quality standards, the task completion occurs;otherwise, the task completion is rejected and the user is informed thatmore quality is required. If the activity has an output condition, thetool 200 receives an indication of the output conditions (step 2850).The output condition 3391 for the “Get Parts” activity 606 has an ID of“1527” 3392 (FIG. 33B), and is a document-type condition, as indicatedby the “linkable1” identity 3393 in the element 3394 representing thecondition 3391. In general, based on the condition 3391, the tool 200(in particular, the Workflow Engine 222) monitors the state of anartifact for an activated “Get Parts” task created from the “Get Parts”activity 606 until the state of the artifact is the “INITIAL” state 3395before the tool 200 continues with the next task in the plan. Similarly,the output condition 3396 for the “Right” activity 610 has an ID of“1533” 3397. The output condition 3396 for the “Right” activity 610 isalso a document-type condition, as indicated by the “linkable1” identity3398. This condition 3396 signals the tool 200 to monitor the state ofan artifact until it is in the “RIGHT” state 3399.

FIG. 36 depicts an exemplary user interface 3600 displayed by the ClientInterface 134 to include either a document-oriented 3602 or a script (orlogic)-oriented 3604 condition. As shown in FIG. 36, the ClientInterface 134 may receive the request to add a condition to the activityvia a pull-down menu selection 3606. The enterprise affiliate may,however, use any known data input technique to request that a conditionbe added to an activity, such as an icon or keyboard input, to indicatethe request to the Client Interface 134. If the enterprise affiliateselects a document-oriented condition, the enterprise affiliate may bepresented with the user interface 3700 depicted in FIG. 37 to identifythe properties of the condition to the Client Interface 134. Thecondition properties 3702 include condition-name property 3704 for thedocument-type condition model. In the example shown in FIG. 37, theClient Interface 134 receives the condition-name property 3704 via akeyboard input by the enterprise affiliate. The Client Interface 134uses the condition-name property 3704 to distinguish the condition modelto be created from other condition models stored on WebDAV Storage 142.The Client Interface 134 may store the document-type condition modelfile on WebDAV Storage 142 having the same name as the condition-nameproperty 3704. In another implementation, the Client Interface 134 maystore the condition-name property 3704 as a WebDAV property stored inassociation with the document-type condition model file on WebDAVStorage 142.

The Client Interface 134 also receives a link-parameter property 3706 asone of Condition properties 3702 for the document-type condition modelto be created by the Client Interface. As shown in FIG. 37, theenterprise affiliate may identify link-parameter property 3706 to theClient Interface via keyboard input. Link-parameter property 3706 may beused by an enterprise affiliate in an activity-related script that isidentified to the Client Interface during the creation of a workflow asdescribed below. Thus, when executing the activity-related script in atask of a plan created from the workflow, the Workflow Engine 222 inFIG. 2 is able to locate the corresponding document condition so thatthe corresponding input or output condition may be evaluated by theWorkflow Engine 222.

The Client Interface 134 may also receive a description property 3708 asone of Condition properties 3702 for the document-type condition modelto be created by the Client Interface. When creating a workflow asdescribed below, the Client Interface may display description property3708 in association with condition-name property 3704 to allow anenterprise affiliate to effectively choose whether the document-typecondition model should be assigned to an activity of the workflow.

The Client Interface may also receive one or more triggering-eventproperties 3710 for the document-type condition model. In the exampleshown in FIG. 37, the Client Interface may receive the triggering-eventproperties as one of the condition properties 3702 for the document-typecondition model to be created by the Client Interface. Triggering-eventproperties 3710 indicate to the Workflow Engine 222 when to check thestate property of a document condition as an entry or exit condition ofan activated task. Triggering-event properties 3710 may include a “Writeinto document” event 3712, a “Change property of document” event 3714, a“Put document into repository” event 3716, a “copy or move intodocument” event 3718, and a “delete document” event 3720.

Next, the Client Interface 134 receives document state properties 3722as one of the Condition properties 3702 for the document-type conditionmodel to be created by the Client Interface. Document state properties3722 identify possible values for a state property of a documentcondition that is created using the document-type condition model. Asfurther explained herein, an enterprise affiliate who has beenidentified as the responsible owner of an activated task may change thestate property of a document condition (e.g., from “DRAFT” to“APPROVED”) using the Client Interface, which sends a request to WebDAVServer 140 in FIG. 2 to set the state property of the document conditionas indicated by the enterprise affiliate. Workflow Engine 222 in FIG. 2may then check the state property of the document condition on WebDAVStorage 142 when triggering-events 3710 occur.

The Client Interface also receives a location property 3724 as one ofCondition properties 3702 identified by the enterprise affiliate for thedocument-type condition model. Location property 3724 is a uniqueidentifier or URL for a document template that the Client Interface usesto create the document condition that is then stored by the ClientInterface on WebDAV Storage 142. Location property 3724 may be alocation on secondary storage device 116 of computer 102 a or a locationon WebDAV Storage 142. As described in greater detail below, thedocument condition is created by the Client Interface 134 when a plan isinstantiated or created from a workflow having an activity with an entryor exit condition created using the document-type condition model.Finally, the Client Interface receives application property 3726 as oneof Condition properties 3702 identified by the enterprise affiliate forthe document-type condition model. Application property 3726 is a uniqueidentifier or URL for an application, such as Microsoft Word, that theClient Interface may run to create an instant of the document templatethat may be found at the location specified by location property 3724.The Client Interface uses the instant of the document template to createand store the document condition on WebDAV Storage 142.

FIG. 38 depicts an exemplary user interface 3800 displayed by the ClientInterface 134 to receive the condition properties 3802 for a logic-typecondition model that is to be created by the Client Interface 134. Thecondition properties 3802 include a condition-name property 3804 for thedocument-type condition model. In the example shown in FIG. 38, theClient Interface 134 receives the condition-name property 3804 via akeyboard input by the enterprise affiliate. The Client Interface 134uses the condition-name property 3804 to distinguish the logic-typecondition model to be created from other condition models stored onWebDAV Storage 142. As described below, the Client Interface 134 storesa logic-type condition model file on WebDAV Storage 142 that has thesame name as condition-name property 3804. In another implementation,the Client Interface 134 may also store condition-name property 3804 asa WebDAV property stored in association with the logic-type conditionmodel file on WebDAV Storage 142.

In the example shown in FIG. 38, the Client Interface 134 may receive adescription property 3806 as one of the Condition properties 3802 forthe logic-type condition model to be created by the Client Interface134. When creating a workflow as described below, the Client Interface134 may display the description property 3806 in association with thecondition-name property 3804 to allow an enterprise affiliate toeffectively choose whether the logic-type condition model should beassigned to an activity of the workflow.

The Client Interface 134 may also receive one or more triggering-eventproperties 3808 for the logic-type condition model as one of thecondition properties 3802 for the logic-type condition model to becreated by the Client Interface 134. Triggering-event properties 3808indicate to the Workflow Engine 222 when to check an entry or exitcondition of an activated task Triggering-event properties 3808 include:an “Absolute time” event 3810, a “Period” event 3812, a “URL change”event 3814, a “Task change” event 3816, and “any http request” event3818. “Absolute time” event 3810 identifies a trigger for a specificdata and time from the start time of the activated task. “Period” event3812 identifies a trigger for a specific unit of time, such as onceevery minute. “URL change” event 3814 identifies a trigger when thecontents of the directory or folder located at the URL changes. “Taskchange” event 3816 identifies a trigger for any time the activated taskdefinition file or associated property changes. For example, when anenterprise affiliate that is responsible for the task uses the ClientInterface 134 to identify that the task is complete, the ClientInterface 134 in response sends a request to the WebDAV Server 140 toset the status property of the activated task to “FINISHED.” As part ofthe processing for managing an activated plan as described below, theWorkflow Engine 222 will receive this request before the WebDAV Server140 and interpret the request as an example of a “Task change” event3816. Similarly, “Any http request” event 3818 indicates to the WorkflowEngine 222 to check the entry or exit condition of the activated taskwhen any request is received from the Client Interface 134 that pertainsto the activated task. For example, the Client Interface 134 may send arequest to the WebDAV Server 140 to retrieve the activated task file sothat a status of the activated task can be viewed by an enterpriseaffiliate. Workflow Engine 222 will receive this request before theWebDAV Server 140 and interpret the request as an example of an “Anyhttp request” event 3818.

The Client Interface 134 may also receive a script 3820 as one of thecondition properties 3802 for the logic-type condition model to becreated by the Client Interface 134. Script 3820 is executed by theWorkflow Engine 222 when a triggering-event occurs that corresponds toone of the triggering-event properties 3808 selected by the enterpriseuser using the Client Interface 134. As shown in FIG. 38, Script 3820may include a script parameter 3822, a script value 3824 for scriptparameter 3822, and script content 3826 that may use the scriptparameter 3822 initialized to the script value 3824. The enterpriseaffiliate may provide the script content 3826 to the Client Interface134 via a Script Editor User Interface 3900 in FIG. 39. Script EditorUser Interface 3900 is displayed by the Client Interface 134 when theenterprise affiliate actuates button 3828 on user interface 3800 shownin FIG. 38. Script content 3820 may contain any known applicationprogram interface (API) script method that would be recognizable by thetarget processor interpreter on computer 106, such as Java™ VirtualMachine 150 in FIG. 1.

After checking for any output conditions and/or receiving the outputconditions, the tool 200 determines whether there are any moreactivities to add to the workflow (step 2852). If there are moreactivities, the process continues at step 2822 for the next activity. Ifthere are no more activities to add to the workflow, the tool 200receives an indication of the starting point for the workflow (step2854). Next, the tool 200 receives an indication of the ending point forthe workflow (step 2856) before the process ends.

FIG. 40 depicts an exemplary user interface 4000 displayed by the ClientInterface 134 to receive the properties of an activity of a workflow. Asdepicted, the name 4002 of the activity (e.g., “Specs Development”), theduration 4004 of the activity (e.g., 1 unit) and the role 4006responsible for the activity may be entered by the enterprise affiliateresponsible for creating or modifying the workflow. In addition, theenterprise affiliate may enter an on-entry script 4008 as well as anon-exit script 4010. If the activity represents an entire otherworkflow, the properties of the activity also include the location 4012of the sub-process defining the workflow. This allows an enterprise tosave significant resources by providing a mechanism for reusingworkflows within other workflows. Thus, workflows may be modularly builtfrom constituent workflows. For example, the defect tracking workflowdepicted in FIG. 34 can be used inside many “outer” or “higher-level”processes for software development.

Creating a Plan from a Workflow

FIGS. 41A-B depict a flow diagram illustrating the process of creating aplan from a workflow, i.e., step 306 in FIG. 3. At this point, theenterprise affiliate has already selected the workflow that will be usedto create the plan. Initially, the tool 200 receives an indication ofthe plan name (step 4102). In selecting the plan name, the ClientInterface 134 allows the enterprise affiliate to store the project planwithin an identified project plan group so that any enterprise affiliateusing the Client Interface 134 is able to easily identify relatedproject plans. A process plan group is a collection of project plans(e.g., a directory or folder containing the collection of project plans)created by the Client Interface 134 on WebDAV Storage 142. For example,the software-related project plans may be stored within the same projectplan group so that an enterprise affiliate is able to quickly locate adesired project plan in order to create a corresponding plan using theClient Interface 134. One skilled in the art will appreciate that ClientInterface 134 may store a project plan on WebDAV Storage 142 withoutassociating the project plan with a project plan group. FIG. 42 depictsan exemplary user interface 4200 used to receive a project plan group.

In the implementation shown in FIG. 42, the Client Interface 134receives a dialog box 4202 to enter the name of a new project plan group4204 (e.g., “Software Projects”) after clicking on a “Create Group”button 4206. Alternatively, if the enterprise affiliate decides toselect an existing project plan group, the tool 200 provides theenterprise affiliate with a list 4300 of available project groups fromwhich the enterprise affiliate may choose, as depicted in FIG. 43. Thetool 200 then provides the enterprise affiliate with a dialog box 4400to enter the name 4402 of the project, as shown in FIG. 44.

The next step performed by the tool 200 is to receive an indication ofthe working hours (step 4104). FIG. 45 depicts an exemplary timetable4500 which the enterprise affiliate may use to identify the timetabledefining a workday. As shown, the enterprise affiliate may select atimetable template 4502 with predefined working hours. The StandardTimetable 4504 includes five Working Days 4506 (Monday through Friday)and Working Hours 4508 from 8 a.m. (4510) through 12 p.m. (4512) andfrom 1 p.m. (4514) until 5 p.m. (4516). Alternatively, the enterpriseaffiliate may select a 24 Hour Timetable 4518 or an Intensive Timetable4520, i.e., more than the Standard Timetable 4504, but less than the 24Hour Timetable 4518. The tool 200 also receives an indication of thestart date and time for the project plan (step 4106). An exemplarydialog box 4600 may be used to select the start date and time 4602 andend date and time 4604.

The tool 200 then retrieves an activity from the workflow (step 4108).The tool 200 sets the start time of the task equal to the start date andtime of the project plan (step 4110). Next, the tool 200 sets the endtime of the task based on the start time of the task, the duration ofthe activity from which the task is based, and on the working hours(step 4112 in FIG. 41B). The tool 200 then receives an indication of theresource assigned to the task (step 4114).

For example, FIG. 47 depicts an exemplary workflow definition file 4700that is produced by the tool 200 when the workflow 500 depicted in FIG.5 is created. FIG. 48 depicts an exemplary project plan definition file4800 created from the workflow definition file 4700. The element 4702 inthe workflow definition file 4700 represents the “Serial 1” activity506. As shown, the “Serial 1” activity 506 has a duration 4704 of 9hours. If the working hours are determined based on the “24 HourTimetable” 4818 and the start date and time for the project plan is 9am. on Aug. 1, 2001, the start time 4804 for the “Serial 1” task 4802 is9 a.m. on Aug. 1, 2001. The end time 4806 of the task 4802 occurs 9hours later, i.e., at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2001.

FIG. 49 depicts an exemplary user interface 4900 displayed by the ClientInterface 134 to assign users or resources to the project and to assignthese users specific roles related to the roles required by the project.The tool 200 displays a list of available users or resources 4902 (onthe left), a list of the assigned users (central), and a list of theroles 4904 (on the right) in a given workflow. In this embodiment, theenterprise affiliate is allowed to selectively add or remove availableresources to the project by highlighting the resource and selectingeither the “Add” button 4906 or the “Remove” button 4908, respectively.Alternatively, the enterprise affiliate may add or remove the resourcesto the project by selecting the “Add all” button 4910 or the “Removeall” 4912 button, respectively. For each resource, the user canselectively indicate (checkboxes) which roles the user should play.Thus, the enterprise affiliate may identify to the tool 200 resourcesthat are capable of performing the role when assigned to a task in theplan. As discussed below, the tool 200 may automatically assign aresource to a role of a task in the plan based on the identified,capable resources for the role.

The properties of an activity may be modified using the exemplary userinterface 5000 depicted in FIG. 50. The user interface 5000 displays thename 5002 of the activity, the duration 5004 assigned to thecorresponding activity, the start date and time 5006 for the activity,the end date and time 5008 for the activity, the responsible role 5010assigned to the corresponding activity, the responsible resource or user5012 assigned to the task, the owners 5014 of the task, the priority5016 of the task, the on-entry script 5018 of the task, and the on-exitscript 5020 of the task. The responsible resource 5012 of the task isthe resource with the authority to notify the tool 200 when the task iscomplete. The owner(s) 5014 of the task, on the other hand, are notifiedwhen the task is started or completed, but do not have the authority tomodify the tool 200 when the task is complete.

The next step performed by the tool 200 is to determine whether thereare any more activities in the workflow (step 4116). If there are nomore activities, the process ends. If there are more activities, thetool 200 retrieves the next activity (step 4118). The tool 200 then setsthe start time of the task equal to the end time of the predecessor task(step 4120). The process then continues at step 4112.

The next activities that are retrieved by the tool 200 are “Parallel 1”510 and “Parallel 2” 512. Element 4706 and element 4708 in the workflowdefinition file 4700 represent these activities 510 and 512. Thedurations 4710 and 4712 of both of these activities is 24 hours. Thestart time 4812 and 4814 of these tasks 4808 and 4810 is equal to theend time 4806 of the predecessor task, i.e., 6 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2001.Because the duration 4710 and 4712 of the activities 510 and 512 is 24hours, the end times 4816 and 4818 of these tasks 4808 and 4810 occur 24hours later, i.e., at 6 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2001. The next activityretrieved by the tool 200 is “Serial 2” 508. The element 4714 in theworkflow definition file 4700 represents this activity. The duration4716 of the “Serial 2” activity 508 is 24 hours. The start time 4822 ofthe task 4820 created from the “Serial 2” activity 508 is the end time4816 and 4818 of the predecessor task, i.e., 6 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2001.Because the duration 4716 of the “Serial 1” activity is 24 hours, theend time 4824 of the task 4820 is 6 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2001. The projectplan is displayed in the Gantt chart 5100 depicted in FIG. 51. As shown,the “Serial 1” task 5102 is scheduled to execute from 9 a.m. 5104 onAug. 1, 2001 (5106) through 6 p.m. 5108 on the same day. The “Parallel1” task 5110 and the “Parallel 2” task 5112 are scheduled to executefrom 6 p.m. 5108 on Aug. 1, 2001 (5106) through 6 p.m. 5114 on Aug. 2,2001 (5116). Finally, the “Serial 1” task 5118 is scheduled to executefrom 6 p.m. 5114 on Aug. 2, 2001 (5116) through 6 p.m. 5120 on Aug. 3,2001 (5122). Note that an enterprise affiliate using the ClientInterface 134 on the computer 102 a may create a plan from the workflow600 at the same time that a second enterprise affiliate using the ClientInterface 134 on computer 102 n creates a second plan from the workflow600.

After the project plan is created from the workflow, the plan may beactivated. As depicted in FIG. 52, the enterprise affiliate may activatethe project by selecting the “Activate Project” option 5202 from thepull-down menu 5200. The enterprise affiliate may, however, use anyknown data input technique, such as an icon or keyboard input, toindicate the request to Client Interface 134.

In one implementation, the Client Interface 134 then sends an activaterequest to the WebDAV server 140 to change the status of the plandefinition file to “Active.” As discussed further below, the WorkflowEngine 222 may intercept this request and process the request inpreparation for managing the execution of the activated plan. Once theplan is created and stored on WebDAV storage 142, any enterpriseaffiliate with appropriate privileges (e.g., project manager that “owns”the plan) may activate the plan using the Client Interface 134 from anycomputer 102 a and 102 n.

Adding a Resource

FIG. 53 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary processperformed by the Client Interface 134 to add a new resource to the listof available resources. The Client Interface 134 may later assign theresource to a plan in accordance with methods and systems consistentwith the present invention. Initially, the Client Interface 134 receivesa request to add a new resource (step 5302). As shown in FIG. 54, theClient Interface 134 may receive the request to add a new resource via apull-down menu selection 5402 and 5404 that is chosen by an enterpriseaffiliate. The enterprise affiliate may, however, use any known datainput technique, such as an icon or keyboard input, to indicate therequest to the Client Interface 134.

Next, the Client Interface 134 determines whether the request is toimport the resource information (step 5304). In the implementation shownin FIG. 54, an enterprise affiliate requests that the Client Interface134 import a resource profile containing the resource information bychoosing the pull-down menu selection 5404. Alternatively, theenterprise affiliate may request that the Client Interface 134 createthe resource profile from resource information that the enterpriseaffiliate provides to the Client Interface 134. Thus, if the request isnot to import the resource information, the Client Interface 134receives the resource information from the enterprise affiliate (step5306). As shown in FIG. 54, the Client Interface 134 may receiveresource information 5404 for an enterprise affiliate (e.g., a user orperson) that may later be assigned to a plan by the Client Interface 134in accordance with processes described in greater detail below. TheResource Information 5404 may include a login name 5408, a resource name5410 that the Client Interface 134 is to use when assigning the resourceto a task of a plan, and an e-mail address 5412 that the ClientInterface 134 or the Workflow Engine 222 may use to notify the resourceof an assignment or another event.

The Client Interface 134 may also receive other resource information(not shown) for other types of resources (e.g., equipment, facilities,computer systems, or other known entities) that may be assigned to anytask of a plan. The other resource information may include: a resourcename that the Client Interface 134 is to use when assigning the resourceto a task of a plan; a resource owner name that identifies a manager orother enterprise affiliate who is responsible for the named resource;and an e-mail address for the named resource owner, which the ClientInterface 134 or the Workflow Engine 222 may notify when the namedresource is assigned to a task or for another associated event.

Resource information 5404 may also include one or more skill identifiersthat indicate one or more capabilities that a task of a plan may requirefor the task to be completed. Skill identifiers may include anyforeseeable skill for the named resource, including a user, equipment,facilities, computer systems, or other known entities that may beassigned to any task of a plan. For example, when the named resource isan enterprise affiliate, the skill identifiers that may be identifiedfor the enterprise affiliate may include: “Java programming,”“architecture,” or “carpentry.” When the named resource is equipment,the skill identifiers may include “punch-press,” “printing,” or “WindowsNT Operating System.” Or, when the resource is another system, skillsmay involve the ability to execute specific functions (much likedistributed or web services, “credit card validation,” “shop for bestair freight shipper prices”). Resource information 5404 may also includea skill strength (not shown) for each skill identifier. The skillstrength may be used by the tool to differentiate one resource fromanother resource when matching a resource to a role of a task in a plan.

Resource information 5404 may also include an availability timetable(not shown) that indicates to the Client Interface 134 the calendardays, the hours in a weekday, and the hours in a weekend day that thenamed resource is available to work. Resource information 5404 may alsoinclude an assignment timetable (not shown) that has assigned calendardays. The assigned calendar days indicate to the Client Interface 134which calendar days the named resource has been assigned to one or moretasks. In addition, the assignment timetable may include uniqueidentifiers or URLs for the one or more tasks to which the namedresource has been assigned. Thus, the Client Interface 134 or theWorkflow Engine 222 may access the one or more tasks that the namedresource has been assigned when performing processing for resourceleveling of a plan in accordance with methods and systems consistentwith the present invention.

If the request is to import the resource information, the ClientInterface 134 receives access information for a “Lightweight DirectoryAccess Protocol (LDAP)” resource directory entry (e.g., a resourceprofile) on the network 108 of FIG. 1 (step 5308). FIG. 55 depicts anexemplary user interface 5500 showing access information 5502 receivedby the Client Interface 134. Access information 5502 includes an LDAPServer 5504 (e.g., “Frodo”) on the network 108, an LDAP Port 5506 forthe Client Interface 134 to communicate with the LDAP Server 5504, and aresource distinguished name (DN) 5508 identifying the location on LDAPServer 5504 where the resource profile may be found. The accessinformation 5502 may be default access information that the ClientInterface 134 retrieves from a configuration file (not shown) on thecomputer 102 a, or it may be access information entered by an enterpriseaffiliate. In the implementation illustrated in FIG. 55, the accessinformation 5502 may also include: a security distinguished name (DN)5510, a password 5512, and a login alias 5514. Security DN 5510identifies to the Client Interface 134 where a security profile for theenterprise affiliate is located. The Client Interface 134 uses thepassword 5512 and the login alias 5514 to access the resourceinformation on the LDAP Server 5504 in accordance with privilegesidentified in the security profile.

Having received the access information for the LDAP directory entry onnetwork 108, the Client Interface 134 retrieves the resource informationusing the LDAP access information (step 5310). The resource informationthat the Client Interface 134 retrieves includes resource profiles for auser, equipment, facilities, computer systems, or other known entitiesthat may be assigned to any task of a plan.

After the resource information is received from the enterprise affiliateor is retrieved using LDAP access information, the Client Interface 134stores the resource information in resource profiles on the WebDAVStorage 142 (step 5312).

FIG. 56 depicts an exemplary resource file 5600 that the ClientInte-rface 134 may use to store resource profiles 5602, 5604, 5606, and5608 on WebDAV Storage 142. As shown in FIG. 56, the resource profile5600 includes a unique identifier or URL 5612 where the resource profile5600 is to be stored on the WebDAV Storage 142. Each resource profile5602, 5604, 5606, and 5608 may be stored separately by the ClientInterface 134 on WebDAV Storage 142. In the implementation shown in FIG.56, the resource profile 5602 includes resource information 5610 thatcorresponds to an enterprise affiliate that may be assigned to a task ofa plan. In another implementation, the resource information 5610 may beadded as properties rather than as the content of the resource profile5602 on WebDAV Storage 142. This implementation may be advantageous asthe Client Interface 134 or the Workflow Engine 222 may use a knownWebDAV method to retrieve resource profiles from the WebDAV Storage 142that have the same property. For example, the WebDAV “PropFind” methodmay be used by the Client Interface 134 or the Workflow Engine 222 toretrieve the resource profiles having a skill identifier of “JavaProgramming” so that an available resource having this skill can beassigned to a task in accordance with processes described below.

Managing a Plan

FIG. 57 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary processperformed by the Workflow Engine 222 to manage the execution of anactivated plan. The Workflow Engine 222 may execute the process in FIG.57 for each activated plan stored on WebDAV Storage 142. Thus, the toolmanages the execution of multiple plans simultaneously.

Initially, the tool 200 waits until the current time and date are laterthan the start time and date (step 5702) of the plan. Alternatively, aplan may not require a start time and date for each plan. Rather, thestart time and date may be incorporated as an input condition for eachtask. At this point, the tool 200 selects the current next task (ortasks in the event of parallel tasks) from the activated project plancreated from a workflow (step 5704). Note that the Workflow Engine 222may retrieve the plan from WebDAV storage. Next, the tool 200 determineswhether there is an input condition (step 5706). If there is an inputcondition, the tool 200 waits to see if the triggering event (describedabove) is met before it checks to see if the input condition is met(step 5708). If the input condition required monitoring of certain itemson a periodic basis, the Workflow Engine 222 will add this event to its“Event Monitoring” log. After the input condition is met or if there isno input condition, the tool 200 stores the actual start time (step5710). The next step performed by the tool 200 is to determine whetherthere is an on-entry script to execute, such as a message to send to theresource (step 5712 in FIG. 57B). If there is an on-entry script, thetool 200 performs the on-entry script (step 5714). After performing theon-entry script or if there is no on-entry script, the tool 200determines whether there is an output condition (step 5716). If there isan output condition, the tool 200 waits to see if the triggering event(described above) is met before it checks to see if the output conditionis met (step 5718). After the output condition is met or if there is nooutput condition, the tool 200 determines whether there is an on-exitscript (step 5720). If there is an on-exit script, the tool 200 performsthe on-exit script (step 5722). After performing the on-exit script orif there is no on-exit script, the tool 200 stores the actual end time(step 5724). Then the tool 200 determines whether there are any moretasks in the project plan (step 5726). If there are no more tasks, theprocess ends. Otherwise, the process returns to step 5704 and selectsthe next task.

The plan 5800 created from the workflow 500 depicted in FIG. 5 is shownin FIG. 58. As shown in FIG. 58, “Serial 1” task 5802 is scheduled tobegin at 9 a.m. 5804 on Aug. 1, 2001 (5806) and end at 6 p.m. 5808 onthe same day. The parallel tasks 5810 and 5812 are scheduled to start atthe completion of the “Serial 1” task 5808, and are scheduled to end at6 p.m. 5814 on Aug. 2, 2001 (5816). The “Serial 2” task 5818 isscheduled to begin upon completion of the parallel tasks 5814 and isscheduled to end at 6 p.m. 5820 on Aug. 3, 2001 (5822). FIG. 59 depictsan exemplary project plan definition file 5900 corresponding to the plan5800 of FIG. 58.

Upon activation, the “Serial 1” task 6002 begins execution, as depictedby the task 6004 in the Gantt chart 6000 of FIG. 60. Contrary to theplan, however, the “Serial 1” task ends earlier than planned. Asdepicted in FIG. 61, the actual properties 6100 of the “Serial 1” task6102 include the actual-start-date 6104 (i.e., year-2001 month-8 day-1hour-9) and actual-finish-date 6106 (i.e., year-2001 month-8 day-1hour-14, i.e., 2 p.m.). The actual execution 6204 of the “Serial 1” task6202 is shown in the Gantt chart 6200 of FIG. 62.

Because the “Serial 1” task 6202 ended earlier than planned, both the“Parallel 1” task 6206 and the “Parallel 2” task 6208 begin execution at2 p.m. 6210 rather than waiting until their scheduled start time of 6p.m. The earlier execution 6212 and 6214 of these tasks 6206 and 6208 isalso depicted in the Gantt chart 6200. As depicted in FIG. 63, theactual properties 6300 of the “Parallel 1” task 6302 and the “Parallel2” task 6304 include the actual-start-date 6306 (i.e., year-2001 month-8day-1 hour-14) and actual-finish-date 6308 (i.e., year-2001 month-8day-2 hour-0). The actual execution 6406 and 6408 of the “Parallel 1”task 6402 and the “Parallel 2” task 6404 is shown in the Gantt chart6400 of FIG. 64. The Gantt chart 6400 also visually indicates that thestart time 6410 for the tasks 6402 and 6404 was 2 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2001,while the end time 6412 for the tasks 6402 and 6404 was 12 a.m. on Aug.2, 2001.

Finally, the execution of the “Serial 2” task 6414 begins at 12 a.m. onAug. 2, 2001 (6412). As depicted in FIG. 65, the actual properties 6500of the “Serial 2” task 6502 includes the actual-start-date 6504 (i.e.,year-2001 month-8 day-2 hour-0) and actual-finish-date 6506 (i.e.,year-2001 month-8 day-2 hour-12). The actual execution 6604 of the“Serial 1” task 6602, the actual execution 6608 of the “Parallel 1” task6606, the actual execution 6612 of the “Parallel 2” task 6610, and theactual execution 6616 of the “Serial 2” task 6614, are shown in theGantt chart 6600 of FIG. 66.

Animation of Workflows and Project Plans

Methods and systems consistent with the present invention allow a userto animate the edits to a plan or workflow. Thus, an enterpriseaffiliate may view the changes made to a plan or workflow over time, ormay view the various plans created from a given workflow over time. Anenterprise affiliate may also use the tool 200 to review the stepsperformed during the activation of a plan.

FIG. 67 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process forstoring the edits to a plan definition file and the corresponding taskdefinition files during the activation of the plan. Initially, the tool200 retrieves a plan selected by an enterprise affiliate (step 6702).Next, the tool 200 activates the plan (step 6704). The next stepperformed by the tool 200 in activating the plan is to select a taskfrom the plan (step 6706). Then, the tool 200 activates the task (step6708). Thus, in the plan depicted in FIG. 68, upon activation, the tool200 selects the first task 6802. The block 6804 represents the task6802, as defined by duration and start time, on the timeline 6800 orGantt Chart. FIG. 69 illustrates the task definition file 6900corresponding to the task 6802 of FIG. 68. As shown in the taskdefinition file 6900 of FIG. 69, prior to activation, the state of thetask is “unexecuted” 6902. After activating the task 6802, the tool 200darkens of the outer borders of the block 7004 representing the task7002, as depicted in the timeline 7000 of FIG. 70. The activation of thetask is reflected in the task definition file (step 6710). As shown inthe task definition file 7100 depicted in FIG. 71, the state of the taskis changed to “executing” 7102 after the task is activated.Alternatively, the state of the task may be changed to “active” ratherthan “executing.” The tool 200 then saves the edits to the taskdefinition file (step 6712). The tool 200 also includes a link to thetask definition file in the plan definition file, and saves the plandefinition file (step 6714).

The next step performed by the tool 200 is to wait until the executionof the task is complete (step 6716). The tool 200 depicts a completedtask 7202 on the timeline 7200 in FIG. 72 as a darkened block 7204.After the execution of the task is complete, the tool 200 edits the taskdefinition file to reflect the completed task (step 6718). As shown inthe task definition file 7300 of FIG. 73, the state of the task ischanged to “executed” 7302. After editing the task definition file, thetool 200 saves the edits to the task definition file (step 6720). Thetool 200 also includes a link to the task definition file in the plandefinition file, and saves the plan definition file (step 6722). Next,the tool 200 determines whether there are any more tasks (step 6724). Ifthere are no more tasks, the process ends. Otherwise, if there are moretasks, the process continues at step 6704.

Returning to the timeline 7200 in FIG. 72, the tool 200 selects the nexttask 7206 from the plan, which is depicted as block 7208. The taskdefinition file 7400 of FIG. 74 represents the second task 7206, whichindicates that the state of the task is “unexecuted” 7402. Afteractivating the second task, the tool 200 darkens of the outer borders ofthe block 7508 representing the task 7506, as depicted in the timeline7500 of FIG. 75. The activation of the task is reflected in the taskdefinition file 7600 depicted in FIG. 76. In particular, the state ofthe task is changed to “executing” 7602 after the task is activated. Thetool 200 then saves the edits to the task definition file 7600, includesa link to the task definition file 7600 in the plan definition file, andsaves the plan definition file. The tool 200 then waits until theexecution of the task is complete, and depicts the completed task 7706on the timeline 7700 in FIG. 77 as a darkened block 7708. After theexecution of the task is complete, the tool 200 edits the taskdefinition file 7800 of FIG. 78 to reflect the completed task, i.e., thestate of the task is changed to “executed” 7802. After editing the taskdefinition file 7800, the tool 200 saves the edits to the taskdefinition file 7800, includes a link to the task definition file 7800in the plan definition file, and saves the plan definition file. In theexample above, the tool represents an executing task with darkenedborders and represents an executed task as a darkened block. One skilledin the art, however, will recognize that any visible change in theblocks representing the tasks, e.g., a change in shape, color, shading,etc., may be used to represent the tasks in their various states. Thus,the representation of the tasks used in the methods, systems, andarticles of manufacture consistent with the present invention are notlimited to those used in the present embodiment.

In another implementation, the tool 200 allows a user to store themodifications made to a plan, and allows the user to view the changesmade to a plan over time. FIG. 79 depicts a flow diagram illustrating anexemplary process for storing the edits to a plan. Initially, the tool200 retrieves a plan selected by a user (step 7902). The user makesmodifications to a task in the plan, which are reflected in the taskdefinition file by the tool 200 (step 7904). Next, the tool 200 savesthe edits to the task definition file (step 7906). The tool 200 alsoincludes a link to the task definition file in the plan definition fileand saves the plan definition file (step 7908). The next step performedby the tool 200 is to determine whether there are any more changes to bemade to the plan (step 7910). If there are no more changes to be made,the process ends. Otherwise, if there are more changes, the processcontinues at step 7904. The modifications to the tasks may includechanging the resource assigned to the task or changing the start time ofthe task. The modifications to the tasks may be made before theactivation of the plan. Alternatively, modifications may be made to thetasks during the execution of the plan as long as the task that is beingmodified has not yet become active.

In general, the storage of the complete version history of a workflow ora plan allows methods and systems consistent with the present inventionto sequentially step through the versions, display the workflow or plan,and provide “video cassette recorder”-like navigation (e.g.,pause/resume, play, forward, reverse, go to start, go to end) throughthe versions of the workflow or plan. Forward implies going from anearlier version, forward in time, through newer versions. Goingbackwards implies starting from, for example, the current version andtracing back through the earlier versions; for example, to the initialversion.

All available versions of a plan may be retrieved, and the user maychoose the range of versions desired. The system may be set up toretrieve all versions by default. The system may also use a VCR-likemechanism to receive the indication of how the user wishes to stepthrough the versions. The system may then receives an indication fromthe user as to how to view the animation (e.g., play forward from thebeginning). When it is determined to display in the forward mode, themethod may retrieve the earliest version in the selected range anddisplaying the plan. At a user-selectable rate (e.g., display oneversion every 5 seconds), the system may retrieve the next version,apply the edits to the plan, and display the plan. The portions of theplan may be visually distinctive as a function of frequency of change.For example, areas of the plan that do not change from version toversion may remain in a visually non-distinctive color. Those areas thatundergo the most change may be visually distinct (e.g., red or bolded ortagged with a number indicating changes). Those areas that are “removed”may also be visually distinct (e.g., grayed out, or faint or tagged witha small “removed” symbol).

FIGS. 80A and B depict the process performed by the tool 200 to animatethe changes to the plan. Initially, the tool 200 retrieves the edits tothe plan definition file (step 8002). In one implementation, each editmay be stored in a separate file with a link to the plan definitionfile. In another implementation, all edits may be stored in a singlefile with a link to the plan definition file. In yet anotherimplementation, all edits may be stored with the plan definition file.The tool 200 also retrieves edits to the task definition files (step8004). Similar to the edits to the plan definition file, each edit maybe stored in a separate file with a link to the task definition file.Alternatively, all of the edits may be stored in a single file with alink to the task definition file, or all of the edits may be stored withthe task definition file. Then, the user sets the rate of the display(step 8006). Next, the tool 200 sets the time period equal to thereciprocal of the rate (step 8008). The time period indicates the amountof time the tool 200 pauses between the different displays of theanimation. Thus, if the rate is 1/sec, the tool pauses 1 sec. betweeneach of the different displays of the animation. The enterpriseaffiliate may choose to display the animation in the forward or reversedirection. Thus, the tool 200 determines whether the user chose todisplay the animation in the forward mode (step 8010). If the tool 200determines that the animation will be displayed in the forward mode, thetool 200 removes the edits to the plan definition file (step 8012). Thetool 200 also removes the edits to the task definition files (step8014). Next, the tool 200 displays the plan (step 8016). The tool 200then pauses for the time period (step 8018). After waiting the timeperiod, the tool 200 selects the first edit (step 8020). The next stepperformed by the tool 200 is to apply the edit (step 8022). The tool 200then displays the edited plan (step 8024). The tool 200 also determineswhether the enterprise affiliate has decided to adjust the rate of thedisplay (step 8026). If the tool 200 receives a request from the user toadjust the rate of the display, the tool 200 resets the time period tothe reciprocal of the new rate (step 8028). Then, the tool 200determines whether there are any more edits (step 8030). If there are nomore edits, the process ends. Otherwise, if there are additional edits,the process continues at step 8018.

If the enterprise affiliate chose not to display the animation in theforward mode, the next step performed by the tool 200 is to display theplan (step 8032 in FIG. 80B). Next, the tool 200 pauses for the timeperiod (step 8034). The tool 200 then selects an edit (step 8036). Afterselecting the edit, the tool 200 removes the edit (step 8038). The tool200 then displays the edited plan (step 8040). The next step performedby the tool 200 is to determine whether the enterprise affiliate hasrequested an adjustment in the rate of display (step 8042). If the tool200 determines that the enterprise affiliate requested an adjustment tothe rate, the tool 200 resets the time period to the reciprocal of thenew rate (step 8044). The tool 200 then determines whether there are anymore edits (step 8046). If there are no more edits, the process ends.Otherwise, if there are additional edits, the process continues at step8034.

Similar to the plan discussed above, methods and systems consistent withthe present invention may be used to animate changes to a workflow. FIG.81 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for storingindications of edits to a workflow. Initially, the tool 200 retrieves aworkflow (step 8102). For example, an enterprise affiliate may choosethe workflow 8200 depicted in FIG. 82. The workflow includes a startelement 8202 and an end element 8204. The workflow depicted alsoincludes “Get Parts” activity 8206 followed by “L or Rt Handed?” logicactivity 8208. The activity definition file 8300 representing “GetParts” activity 8206 is depicted in FIG. 83. The default pathsrepresented by a solid line out of the decision block or logic activity8208, leads to a “Right” activity 8214, which is followed by a “CompleteAssembly” activity 8216. The activity definition file 8400 representing“Right” activity 8214 is depicted in FIG. 84, and the activitydefinition file 8500 representing “Complete Assembly” activity 8216 isdepicted in FIG. 85. The non-default path, represented by a dashed lineout of the decision block or logic activity 8208, leads to a “Left”activity 8210, followed by a “Left Special” activity 8212, and the“Complete Assembly” activity 8216. The activity definition file 8600representing “Left” activity 8210 is depicted in FIG. 86, and theactivity definition file 8700 representing “Left Special” activity 8212is depicted in FIG. 87. In response to a modification made to theworkflow, the tool 200 edits an activity in the workflow (step 8104).Thus, if the “Left Special” activity 8212 of workflow of FIG. 82 wereremoved, the resulting workflow 8800 is depicted in FIG. 88. Because the“Left Special” activity 8212 was between the “Left” activity 8210 andthe “Complete Assembly” activity 8216, the activity definition filescorresponding to these activities will be edited. The activitydefinition file corresponding to the revised “Left” activity 8810 isdepicted in FIG. 89, and the activity definition file corresponding tothe “Complete Assembly” activity 8814 is depicted in FIG. 90. The twoactivity definition files corresponding to the “Left” activity beforeand after the removal of the “Left Special” activity 8212 are depictedin FIGS. 86 and 89, respectively. In particular, the successor from the“Left” activity is changed from id 1524 (8602) to id 1526 (8902), whichcorresponds to a change in successor from the “Left Special” activity8702 to the “Complete Assembly” activity 8502. Similarly, modificationto the activity definition file for the “Complete Assembly” activityindicates that the predecessor activity changed from the “Left Special”activity 8504 in FIG. 85 to the “Left” activity 9002 in FIG. 90.

The next step performed by the tool 200 is to save the edits to theactivity definition file (step 8106). The tool 200 also saves the editsto the workflow definition file (step 8108). The tool 200 thendetermines whether there are any more changes made to the workflow (step8110). If there are no more changes, the process ends. Otherwise, theprocess continues at step 8104.

In another implementation, the tool 200 allows a user to store thedifferent plans created from one workflow. FIG. 91 depicts a flowdiagram illustrating an exemplary process for storing the differentplans. Initially, the tool 200 creates a plan from the workflow (step9102). The tool 200 then stores the plan definition file (step 9104).The tool 200 creates a link from the workflow definition file to theplan definition file and stores the edited workflow definition file(step 9106). Next, the tool 200 creates a different plan from theworkflow (step 9108). After creating the different plan, the tool 200stores the different plan definition file (step 9110). The next stepperformed by the tool 200 is to include a link to the different plandefinition file with the workflow definition file and store the editedworkflow definition file (step 9112). The tool 200 then determineswhether to create more plans (step 9114). If the tool 200 determinesthat no additional plans will be created, the process ends. Otherwise,the process continues at step 9108.

FIGS. 92A and B depict the process performed by the tool 200 to animatethe changes to the workflow. Initially, the tool 200 retrieves the editsto the workflow definition file (step 9202). In one implementation, eachedit may be stored in a separate file with a link to the workflowdefinition file. In another implementation, all edits may be stored in asingle file with a link to the workflow definition file. In yet anotherimplementation, all edits may be stored with the workflow definitionfile. The tool 200 also retrieves edits to the activity definition files(step 9204). Similar to the edits to the workflow definition file, eachedit may be stored in a separate file with a link to the activitydefinition file. Alternatively, all of the edits may be stored in asingle file with a link to the activity definition file, or all of theedits may be stored with the activity definition file. Then, the usersets the rate of the display (step 9206). Next, the tool 200 sets thetime period equal to the reciprocal of the rate (step 9208). The timeperiod indicates the amount of time the tool 200 pauses between thedifferent displays of the animation. Thus, if the rate is 1/sec, thetool pauses 1 sec. between each of the different displays of theanimation. Similar to the above implementation, the enterprise affiliatemay choose to display the animation in the forward or reverse direction.Thus, the tool 200 determines whether the user chose to display theanimation in the forward mode (step 9210). If the tool 200 determinesthat the animation will be displayed in the forward mode, the tool 200removes the edits to the workflow definition file (step 9212). The tool200 also removes the edits to the activity definition files (step 9214).Next, the tool 200 displays the workflow (step 9216). The tool 200 thenpauses for the time period (step 9218). After waiting the time period,the tool 200 selects the first edit (step 9220). The next step performedby the tool 200 is to apply the edit (step 9222). The tool 200 thendisplays the edited workflow (step 9224). The tool 200 also determineswhether the enterprise affiliate has decided to adjust the rate of thedisplay (step 9226). If the tool 200 receives a request from theenterprise affiliate to adjust the rate, the tool 200 resets the timeperiod to the reciprocal of the new rate (step 9228). Then, the tool 200determines whether there are any more edits (step 9230). If there are nomore edits, the process ends. Otherwise, if there are additional edits,the process continues at step 9218.

If the enterprise affiliate chose not to display the animation in theforward mode, the next step performed by the tool 200 is to display theplan (step 9232 in FIG. 92B). Next, the tool 200 pauses for the timeperiod (step 9234). The tool 200 then selects an edit (step 9236). Afterselecting the edit, the tool 200 removes the edit (step 9238). The tool200 then displays the edited workflow (step 9240). The next stepperformed by the tool 200 is to determine whether the enterpriseaffiliate has requested an adjustment in the rate of display (step9242). If the tool 200 determines that the enterprise affiliaterequested an adjustment in the rate, the tool 200 resets the time periodto the reciprocal of the new rate (step 9244). The tool 200 thendetermines whether there are any more edits (step 9246). If there are nomore edits, the process ends. Otherwise, if there are additional edits,the process continues at step 9234.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described,it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that many moreembodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scopeof this invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to berestricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.

1. A computerized method in a data processing system including a userinput device, a secondary storage device for storing edited versions ofa workflow or plan including edits, and a display device incommunication with a computer having a memory and a processor executinga workflow modeling and project planning integration software tool thatincludes software instructions for retrieving and displaying ananimation of graphical representations of versions of the workflow orplan, the method comprising the steps of: copying the graphicalrepresentations of versions of the workflow or plan from the secondarystorage device to the computer memory; receiving via the user inputdevice an indication to navigate forwardly or backwardly through thecomputer memory to display the graphical representations of versions ofthe workflow or plan; receiving an indication of a rate of display;setting a time period equal to a reciprocal of the rate; determining thedirection of the indication to navigate via the processor; anddisplaying via the display device, the graphical representations ofversions of the workflow or plan from an earlier version, forward intime through newer versions if it is determined the direction of theindication to navigate is forward: removing the edits from the plan,displaying the plan, and for each of the edits, applying the edit to theplan, displaying the plan, pausing for the time period, determiningwhether to adjust the rate of display, and when it is determined thatthe rate of display will be adjusted, receiving an indication of a newrate of display, and setting the time period equal to a reciprocal ofthe new rate; else displaying via the display device, the graphicalrepresentations of versions of the workflow or plan from a laterversion, backward in time through older versions if it is determined thedirection of the indication to navigate is backward: displaying theplan, and for each of the edits, removing the edit from the plan,displaying the plan, pausing for the time period, determining whether toadjust the rate of display, and when it is determined that the rate ofdisplay will be adjusted, receiving an indication of the new rate ofdisplay, and setting the time period equal to the reciprocal of the newrate.
 2. The method of claim 1, further including a step of receivingvia the user input device a user selectable display rate.
 3. The methodof claim 2, of displaying each of the graphical representations of eachversion of the workflow or plan for a time period that is equal to thereciprocal of the user selectable display rate.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein each of the graphical representations of the versions of theworkflow or plan displays a corresponding timeline to the workflow orplan.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein each of the graphicalrepresentations of the versions of the workflow or plan is a Ganttchart.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the graphicalrepresentations of the versions of the workflow is displayable as a flowdiagram.
 7. A computer-readable storage media containing a workflowmodeling and project planning integration software tool that includessoftware instructions to perform a method for retrieving and displayingan animation of graphical representations of versions of the workflow orplan including edits, the method comprising the steps of: copying thegraphical representations of versions of the workflow or plan from asecondary storage device to a computer memory; receiving via a userinput device an indication to navigate forwardly or backwardly throughthe computer memory to display the graphical representations of versionsof the workflow or plan; receiving an indication of a rate of display;setting a time period equal to a reciprocal of the rate of display;determining the direction of the indication to navigate via a processorexecuting the workflow modeling and project planning integrationsoftware tool; and displaying on a display device, the graphicalrepresentations of versions of the workflow or plan from an earlierversion, forward in time at the through newer versions if it isdetermined the direction of the indication to navigate is forward:removing the edits from the plan, displaying the plan, and for each ofthe edits, applying the edit to the plan, displaying the plan, pausingfor the time period, determining whether to adjust the rate of display,and when it is determined that the rate of display will be adjusted,receiving an indication of a new rate of display, and setting the timeperiod equal to a reciprocal of the new rate; else displaying via thedisplay device, the graphical representations of versions of theworkflow or plan from a later version, backward in time through olderversions if it is determined the direction of the indication to navigateis backward: displaying the plan, and for each of the edits, removingthe edit from the plan, displaying the plan, pausing for the timeperiod, determining whether to adjust the rate of display, and when itis determined that the rate of display will be adjusted, receiving anindication of the new rate of display, and setting the time period equalto the reciprocal of the new rate.
 8. The method of claim 7, furtherincluding a step of receiving via the user input device a userselectable display rate.
 9. The computer-readable storage media of claim8, of displaying each of the graphical representations of each versionof the workflow or plan for a time period that is equal to thereciprocal of the user selectable display rate.
 10. Thecomputer-readable storage media of claim 7, wherein each of thegraphical representations of the versions of the workflow or plandisplays a corresponding timeline to the workflow or plan.
 11. Thecomputer-readable storage media of claim 10, wherein each of thegraphical representations of the versions of the workflow or plan is aGantt chart.
 12. The computer-readable storage media of claim 7, whereineach of the graphical representations of the versions of the workflow isdisplayable as a flow diagram.
 13. A computerized method in a dataprocessing system including a user input device, a secondary storagedevice for storing edited versions of a workflow or plan includingedits, and a display device in communication with a computer having amemory and a processor executing a workflow modeling and projectplanning integration software tool that includes software instructionsfor retrieving and displaying an animation of graphical representationsof versions of the workflow or plan, the method comprising the steps of:copying the graphical representations of versions of the workflow orplan from the secondary storage device to the computer memory; receivingvia the user input device an indication to navigate forwardly orbackwardly through the computer memory to display the graphicalrepresentations of versions of the workflow or plan; receiving via theuser input device a user selectable display rate; setting a time periodequal to a reciprocal of the user selectable display rate; determiningthe direction of the indication to navigate via the processor; anddisplaying via the display device, the graphical representations ofversions of the workflow or plan from an earlier version, forward intime at the user selectable display rate through newer versions if it isdetermined the direction of the indication to navigate is forward;removing the edits from the plan, displaying the plan, and for each ofthe edits, applying the edit to the plan, displaying the plan, pausingfor the time period, determining whether to adjust the user selectabledisplay rate, and when it is determined that the user selectable displayrate will be adjusted, receiving an indication of a new rate of display,and setting the time period equal to a reciprocal of the new rate; elsedisplaying via the display device, the graphical representations ofversions of the workflow or plan from a later version, backward in timeat the user selectable display rate through older versions if it isdetermined the direction of the indication to navigate is backward:displaying the plan, and for each of the edits, removing the edit fromthe plan, displaying the plan, pausing for the time period, determiningwhether to adjust the user selectable display rate, and when it isdetermined that the user selectable display rate will be adjusted,receiving an indication of the new rate of display, and setting the timeperiod equal to the reciprocal of the new rate.
 14. The method of claim13, wherein each of the graphical representations of the versions of theworkflow or plan displays a corresponding timeline to the workflow orplan.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the graphicalrepresentations of the versions of the workflow or plan is a Ganttchart.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein each of the graphicalrepresentations of the versions of the workflow is displayable as a flowdiagram.
 17. The method of claim 13, further including a step ofreceiving via the user input device an adjustment to the user selectabledisplay rate.
 18. The method of claim 17, further including a step ofdisplaying each of the graphical representations of each version of theworkflow or plan for a time period that is equal to the reciprocal ofthe adjusted user selectable display rate.